1st Latino On Federal Court Of Appeals Confirmed

 WASHINGTON  -- By a vote of 86-0, the Senate confirmed President Obama's nomination of Jimmie V. Reyna to serve as a Circuit Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC). Mr. Reyna will be the first Latino to serve on the CAFC.  The CAFC has nationwide jurisdiction of appeals arising from federal district courts, the Court of International Trade, the U.S. Court of Claims, and a variety of agencies involving a number of subject matter areas, including international trade, government contracts, patents, trademarks, and certain money claims against the United States government.  Mr. Reyna is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Williams Mullen.  He is a Vice President on the firm's board of directors and directs the firm's International Trade and Customs Practice Group.  Mr. Reyna is a former National President of the HNBA.

Mr. Reyna is a recognized expert in international trade, trade policy and customs matters.  He has over three decades of legal experience and 24 years as an international trade practitioner. The Senate today recognized that Mr. Reyna is extraordinarily well-qualified to serve on the CAFC bench. He is a noted and prolific author on trade topics and has earned a stellar reputation as a practitioner, scholar, advocate and humanitarian.

Diana Sen, HNBA National President, noted that "this is a great day for America for it has gained the service and commitment of a great lawyer and leader. The HNBA is proud that Mr. Reyna has been confirmed to the CAFC, and we all take a moment to reflect on the positive message the confirmation sends to the Latino community and the entire legal profession."

Mr. Reyna's record stands as a model of a life of hard work, dedication, and service to the bar and society. A native of Clovis, New Mexico, Mr. Reyna was born to parents of modest means.  He attended the University of Rochester, the University of New Mexico School of Law, and began his career as a litigator in Albuquerque where he handled insurance defense, domestic relations, civil rights, tort, and criminal defense matters. In 1986, he and his wife, Dolores, moved their family to theWashington, D.C. area, driven to meet the needs of the eldest of their sons who is autistic.  In Washington, Mr. Reyna began to build the distinguished career in international trade law that underlies his nomination to the bench.

Mr. Reyna has a solid record of service to the legal profession and the community.  He served on numerous leadership positions in the American Bar Association (ABA) and the HNBA, culminating with his service as HNBA National President (2006-2007).  As HNBA President, he strengthened the organization by establishing "La Promesa en el Derecho" (the Promise in the Law), a guide and program directed to Latino youth and designed to instill trust and confidence in U.S. government and legal institutions.  In addition, he established the HNBA's substantive law structure of Sections and Committees; he implemented the "Breakfast at the HNBA" series; he created and established the Office of HNBA Historian; he created and implemented HNBA Legislative Day; he established the HNBA's first formal LGBT Committee; and he founded and served as Senior Editor-in-Chief of the HNBA Journal of Law and Policy. He established an incredible record of service with the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, an umbrella organization serving 30 national Latino organizations.  His service in the ABA has included the ABA Presidential Commission on Diversity, as a founder and Director of the U.S.-Mexico Law Institute; and as a leader within the ABA Section on International Law.  For over ten years, Mr. Reyna has been a director of Community Services for Autistic Adults and Children, of Maryland. He has mentored many lawyers and law students over his 30-year career, many of whom serve throughout America in exceptional careers. In 2009, the Government of Mexico honored Mr. Reyna with its OhtliAward, one of its highest honors, in recognition of his contributions to opening pathways for the Mexican-American and Latino communities in the United States.  

The HNBA is an incorporated, not-for-profit, national membership organization that represents the interests of the more than 100,000 attorneys, judges, law professors, legal professionals, and law students of Hispanic descent in the United States and its territories.