Lee S. Edmon of the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District and Carolyn Kuhl of the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles published articles in The Association of Business Trial Lawyers’ Los Angeles Chapter (“abtl-LA”) Summer 2019 Report. The Report tackles the topic of civility among lawyers.
Justice Edmon’s piece, coauthored with Judge Samantha Jessner of the Civil Division of the Los Angeles Superior Court, is entitled “Gender Equality Is Part of The Civility Issue” and addresses civility in the legal profession with an emphasis on addressing gender discrimination.
While the demographics of the bench and bar have evolved over recent decades, sexism has proved difficult to dislodge. After all, the Rules of Professional Conduct proscribe sex discrimination, but it persists anyway. Working toward gender parity will help eliminate disparate treatment of women in the law, and will lead to enhanced civility in the profession.
Judge Kuhl’s piece, “Winning Through Cooperation,” discusses the difference between winning in litigation by gaining the upper hand versus winning by creating an environment where both sides have the opportunity to present their case fairly, and on an even playing field.
In litigation, procedure should be the servant of substance. That is, the goal of the rules of civil procedure is not for one side or the other to ’win.’ Rather, procedural rules are intended to create an even playing field so that each side can obtain the facts underlying the dispute and present those facts and applicable law effectively to a decision maker. The purpose of civil litigation is fair dispute resolution. Judges focus on deciding cases based on the substantive merits of each side’s position.
These articles first apeared in the Summer 2019 issue of the abtl-LA Report. Read the full issue. In addition to featuring articles from ALI members Justice Edmon and Judge Kuhl, the Report includes contributions from the following:
- Paul A. Bacigalupo is a judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court and President of the California Judges Association.
- Kevin C. Brazile is Presiding Judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court.
- Bree Buchanan, JD, MSF, is a Senior Advisor for Krill Strategies, LLC. She also serves as a founding co-chair of the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being and chair of the ABA Commission on Lawyers Assistance Programs.
- Brian S. Currey is an Associate Justice of the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division 4.
- T. John Fitzgibbons is a certified specialist in legal malpractice law. He practices at Robie & Matthai.
- Samantha P. Jessner is the Supervising Judge of the Civil Division of the Los Angeles Superior Court.
- Allen Lanstra is a partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP.
- Michael L. Mallow is a partner at Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P. and is the Chair of the Los Angeles Chapter’s Civility Committee.
- Robin Meadow is a partner at Greines, Martin, Stein & Richland LLP and is a co-editor of the ABTL Report.
- Suzanne H. Segal is a United States Magistrate Judge in the Central District of California.
- Sabrina H. Strong is a partner at O’Melveny & Myers LLP and the 2018-2019 President of the Los Angeles Chapter.