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If I had a nickel for every time a Biglaw attorney wound up on the Trump hush money jury, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice. Like, I know New York City is very much the epicenter of the Biglaw world, but it still wows me that not one, but two Biglaw attorneys are on the Trump jury.
In the first two days of jury selection, 7 members of the jury were chosen and anonymized sketches of who will determine the fate of the former president are making the rounds. But, for legal industry insiders, the attorneys that litter the jury are the most fascinating aspect. There was a time when being a lawyer all but guaranteed a strike, but with the hyper specialization of the legal field, prosecutors and defense attorneys are much more willing to take a chance on a juror with a JD.
So, what *do* we know about these Biglaw attorneys? According to Law360, one is a civil litigator at Hunton Andrews Kurth, the other a corporate attorney at Gunderson Dettmer.
[T]he Hunton Andrews attorney described his political views about the Trump presidency as a mixed bag. He said he had no opinions about Trump personally.
The juror said he’d have no trouble reconciling his job as a lawyer and serving in a criminal case.
“I’m a civil litigator, which means I know virtually nothing about criminal,” he said. “I don’t know anything about election or finance law either.”
To the extent that he has any knowledge of those areas of law, the attorney said he believes he can put it aside while serving as a juror.
The corporate attorney is juror No. 3. He reportedly told prosecutors you “don’t need to read somebody’s mind” to reach a conclusion on criminal intent.” As to the other charges pending against Trump on other venues, he said, “I’m not super familiar with the other charges.” He continued, “I don’t really follow the news that closely, unfortunately.” Probably too busy billing.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.
