Page 26 - Miami Vol 8 No 1

2019 SUPERSTAR
HOWARD SREBNICK
A True Believer
AALM: When did you rst know you wanted to become a trial lawyer?
Srebnick: e summer before I started law school, I interned with prosecutors at the State Attorney’s O ce. Just carrying their briefcases to court got my blood pumping; I knew then that I would pursue a ca- reer in the courtroom, instead of the boardroom. And a er watching a lone public defender stand up against the power of the state—delivering a mesmerizing closing argument for his unpopular client—I decided that I would “represent the people of the United States ... one at a time.” Kaley v. U.S. (2014) (Roberts, C.J., dissent- ing).
AALM: Tell us about an unusual in- cident in your career.
Srebnick: I spent the summer a er my rst year in law school working for criminal defense attorney William Cagney, a Georgetown graduate. His passion for the profession was con- tagious, and his disciplined prepara- tion set the bar. When not in court, he was buried in appellate slip opin- ions, studying criminal procedure de- cisions so that he would be the most knowledgeable lawyer in the court- room. Cagney was the rst of several mentors who have shaped my career.
Cagney assigned me to dra an ap- pellate brief challenging the govern- ment’s restraint of a defendant’s assets needed to retain counsel of choice—a legal issue that would resurface later in my career. Cagney led a motion to have me deliver oral argument. When I stood at the lectern to begin my pre- sentation, the chief judge suspended the argument to inquire who had au- thorized a law student to argue. Imag-
ine my anxiety. e Clerk’s Of- ce soon con rmed the court order, which had been signed by the chief judge himself. He (reluctantly) allowed me to proceed; I lost the appeal!
e adrenaline rush led me
to decline an o er from a “Big
Law” rm, where I had been clerking during my second
year of law school so that I
could clerk for a small out t
of criminal lawyers during my third year. How was I to know that an at- torney for whom I was clerking at the “Big Law” rm would one day be ap- pointed chief justice of the Supreme Court of the United States?
AALM: Any signi cant mentors or professors that encouraged you along the way?
Srebnick: Georgetown professors John Copacino and Steven Goldb- latt and moot court coach Shan Wu taught me the fundamentals of trial and appellate advocacy. I have leaned on these mentors for more than 30 years, most recently when they moot- ed me for two arguments before the Supreme Court of the United States.
Federal Judges Edward Davis (S.D. Fla.) and Irving Goldberg (5th Cir.), gave me my start as a law clerk; they remained father gures until their passing. Judge Patrick Higginbotham (5th Cir.), whose chambers were next to Judge Goldberg’s, has been a sounding board and advisor since my clerkship days.
Hon. Kathleen Williams, Hugo Ro- driguez and Paul Rashkind were my supervisors when I was in the trench- es as a public defender; they and my colleagues always had my back when
I battled with a zealous prosecutor or faced an intemperate judge.
And the incomparable Roy Black has been my mentor for 24 years. Be- yond his raw intellect and gi for pub- lic speaking, what sets Roy apart is his work ethic. Every lawyer has the will to win, but not every lawyer has the will to prepare. No one in the court- room is more prepared than Roy.
AALM: What do you nd most re- warding about your practice?
Srebnick: I relish strategizing with colleagues. It started early in my ca- reer, when I reached out for help with my rst appellate argument. Richard Strafer and Terrance Reed gave me their time. For the next 30 years, we collaborated on cases, while forging close friendships. Richard was my co- counsel in the Supreme Court; Terry wrote an amicus brief.
I have spent untold hours brain- storming with giants of the defense bar: Jay Hogan, Hy Shapiro, Jose Qui- non, Hon. Robert Scola, Hon. Mil- ton Hirsch, Walter Reynoso, Vincent Flynn, Richard Klugh and Oscar Ro- driguez have been among the regulars at the lunch roundtable, (some on the basketball court, too) where we would discuss cutting-edge legal issues, cel- ebrate the hard-earned victories and
ATTORNEY AT LAW MAGAZINE · MIAMI · VOL. 8 NO. 1 26