Obama Taps Former Hispanic Bar Leader

 WASHINGTON -- President Obama has announced the nomination of Jimmie V. Reyna to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC).  The CAFC has nationwide jurisdiction of appeals arising from, among others, 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, DCoffice of Williams Mullen.  He sits on the firm's board of directors, and directs the firm's International Trade and Customs Practice Group.  

With over three decades of legal experience and 24 years as an international trade practitioner, Mr. Reyna is extraordinarily well qualified to serve on the CAFC bench. Mr. Reyna has been a valued and effective advocate for corporate clients in a broad range of U.S. and foreign venues.   He is a noted and prolific author, having written books and numerous articles on international trade, trade policy and customs.  In all settings and endeavors, he has earned a stellar reputation as a practitioner and a scholar.

Diana Sen, HNBA National President, noted that "the HNBA family is delighted by the nomination of Mr. Reyna, a former national president of our Association.  We are confident that Mr. Reyna will make an exceptional jurist and the HNBA urges the U.S. Senate to confirm his nomination with deliberate speed."   Roman Hernandez, Immediate Past President of the HNBA, commented that, "I have had the privilege of working with Mr. Reyna for many years.  He is an intelligent, thoughtful and respectful man -- perfect for the bench because of his ability to listen to all sides of an issue, his intellectual rigor, his scholarly approach, and his innate sense of fairness."  

Mr. Reyna's personal history is compelling evidence of the possibilities our great country offers to its citizens through service and hard work. 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 at a law firm in Albuquerque.  He later established his own practice and handled domestic relations, civil rights, tort, and criminal defense matters – often providing services to clients who had no means to pay him.  A few years later, he and his family moved to the Washington, DCarea, driven by the needs of the eldest of his two sons, who is autistic and required educational resources not then available inNew Mexico.  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 long record of service to the legal profession and the community.  He served on numerous positions in the American Bar Association (ABA) and the HNBA culminating with his service as HNBA National President (2006-2007).  He has been Editor-in-Chief of the HNBA Journal of Law and Policy, which he founded, for many years.  He also has a record of service with the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, the ABA Presidential Commission on Diversity and the ABA House of Delegates, and within the ABA International Law Section.  For over ten years, Mr. Reyna has been a director of Community Services for Autistic Adults and Children, a service organization in Maryland.  He has mentored many lawyers and law students over his 30-year career.  In 2009, the Government of Mexico honored Mr. Reyna with its Ohtli Award, 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, its territories and Puerto Rico.  For more information about the HNBA, please visit www.hnba.com.