MoFo Associate Sees a Familiar Face During Her First Appellate Argument: Justice Breyer

Diana Kim spoke to AmLaw Litigation Daily about her experience presenting her first appellate argument in front of her former mentor, retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, for whom she clerked from 2020-2021.

Diana discussed how she earned the opportunity to argue the appeal in the case, Boniface v. Viliena, highlighting how the MoFo Appellate group “looks for opportunities for oral argument for all of the attorneys in the group, including associates.” She said that she was “grateful for the opportunity and for their trust, and it was such an honor to represent these clients in a case that was so important to them.”

She also recounted what it was like to argue in front of Justice Breyer: “You could tell he was really well prepared for all the cases. He asked thoughtful questions of both sides, as did the other members of the different panels that I saw. You could also sense that he enjoyed being on the bench, and that he enjoyed engaging with the advocates and the other judges on the legal issues. So in that sense, he was very much the Justice Breyer that I remember.”

Read the full article.