Our Latest Featured Speaker is Hon. Michael J. Raphael!
Our Latest Featured Speaker is Hon. Michael J. Raphael of the California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division Two!
This program is lead by experienced justices, judges and appellate attorneys, including many California Certified Legal Specialists in Appellate Law who have served as staff attorneys for appellate justices. It is tailored for professionals with a strong background in appellate practice and covers intermediate to advanced topics, assuming that participants already possess a basic understanding of the field.
Justice Raphael is co-teaching “Lessons for Civil Litigators from Court of Appeal Criminal Practice,” alongside Presiding Justice Brian Hoffstadt, on February 25th. You can see the program agenda, sign up to watch it live, purchase OnDemand Streaming, and purchase a recorded package download here.
Justice Raphael has spoken at many Pincus programs over the past decade, first when he was a federal prosecutor, then when he was a Superior Court Judge at our annual CA Superior Court Boot Camps, and now as a CA Appellate Court Justice. In fact, Justice Raphael has spoken at almost every Annual Advanced Appellate Practice program since he has become a justice!
Justice Raphael’s wisdom, knowledge, and contributions during previous webinars have left a lasting impression on our attendees, and we are so glad to welcome him back once again. These programs and others are available for purchase as a recorded package or OnDemand Streaming here.
Justice Raphael is the fourth generation of his family to live in Southern California, though he is the first lawyer or judge. Justice Raphael graduated in 1990 from Rice University and in 1993 from Yale Law School, where he was a senior editor of the Yale Law Journal and an editor of the Yale Journal of Law & Policy.
Justice Raphael served as chief of the Criminal Appeals Section from 2007 to 2012 after serving as deputy chief from 2005 to 2007. As chief, Justice Raphael oversaw an annual appellate docket of roughly 300 briefs and 100 oral arguments in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Justice Raphael personally argued 41 cases in Ninth Circuit on behalf of the United States, including three en banc cases presented to an 11-judge panel. Justice Raphael co-taught Advanced Appellate Advocacy at the Gould School of Law at the University of California in 2005 and 2006; he also co-taught a seminar in criminal sentencing in 2008. Justice Raphael lectured frequently on appellate brief writing and oral argument while an attorney.
In 2012, Justice Raphael became a Judge on the Los Angeles Superior Court upon his appointment by Governor Jerry Brown. On that court, Justice Raphael initially handled assignments that included small claims, limited civil, unlawful detainer, and criminal misdemeanors. He then served in the downtown civil “law and motion” courts that handled pretrial cases for the entire county in limited civil and personal injury cases. For Justice Raphael’s last three years on the trial bench, he was assigned to a downtown civil independent calendar court, with a docket of a wide variety of civil cases. While on the trial court, Justice Raphael was twice appointed to serve as a pro tem Justice in Division Five of the Second District Court of Appeal.
In 2018, Governor Brown nominated Justice Raphael to serve as an Associate Justice on the Court of Appeal, and he was unanimously confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments, after receiving an “exceptionally well qualified” rating from the Judicial Nominees Evaluation Commission.
We are so happy to welcome you back, Justice Raphael!
