From Russia to Orrick with Love

The Sacramento office of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, led by the office's managing partner, Norman C. Hile, and senior associate Lynn Trinka Ernce, recently hosted a meeting and luncheon for five visiting judges from Russia as part of the judges' one-week trip to Northern California for the Open World Program sponsored by the Open World Leadership Center.

According to the Open World Leadership Center's website (www.openworld.gov), the Open World Program was authorized by Congress in 1999 as a result of discussions between the Librarian of Congress, Dr. James H. Billington, and certain members of Congress regarding ways to increase mutual understanding between Russia and the United States and to support Russia's efforts to strengthen its democratic reforms. The website states that the Open World Program is the first and only exchange program administered by the legislative branch of the U.S. Government, and explains that "[t]he Open World Program was designed to bring emerging federal and local Russian political leaders to the United States to meet their American counterparts and gain firsthand knowledge of how American civil society works."

The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of California, led by Chief Judge Michael S. McManus and Clerk of the Bankruptcy Court, Richard G. Heltzel, has been a regular participant in the Open World Program. Mr. Heltzel has traveled to Russia many times to teach court personnel there about the American legal system and court administration and, since 2003, four separate groups of judges representing various regions of Russia have traveled to Sacramento to learn about our legal and judicial system. The judges that participated in the program this year were: Svetlana Valeryevna Izotova, Acting Deputy Chairman of Court, Arbitrage Court, Northwest Region; Galina Vasilyevna Yarosh, Judge, Arbitrage Court, Krasnoyarsk Region; Diana Viktorovna Ilnitskaya, Judge, Arbitrage Court, Omsk Region; Marina Mikhaylovna Gerasimova, Judge, 13th Arbitrage Appeals Court of St. Petersburg; and Vadim Borisovich Zhbanov, Judge, Arbitrage Court, St. Petersburg & Leningrad Region.

With the aid of interpreters, six Orrick attorneys representing four practice groups (litigation, bankruptcy, public finance and employment) discussed a wide range of topics involving life and practice in a large American law firm and responded to numerous questions from the judges. The judges were particularly interested in learning about the day-to-day lives of attorneys at large American firms, how attorneys are recruited, hired and progress to partnership, how associates and partners are compensated, how firms bill their clients for legal work, and other nuts and bolts of American law firm practice. The judges then answered questions from the Orrick attorneys regarding the differences between various aspects of the Russian and American legal systems.

The judges' visit also included a tour of the Robert T. Matsui United States Courthouse and an insider's tour of the Bankruptcy Court clerk's office by Mr. Heltzel, an overview of the American legal and judicial system by Presiding Justice Arthur Scotland of the Third District Court of Appeals, a tour of the Sacramento Superior Court and the County Jail by Presiding Judge Michael G. Virga and a visit to the offices of the California State Board of Equalization hosted by Jan Thurston and Bruce Emard. Aside from the educational aspects of the program, the judges spent their free time in a variety of recreational activities, including a sightseeing trip to San Francisco led by tour guide Judge McManus, visits to various historical, political and cultural sites of interest in Sacramento and, last but not least, an afternoon at Downtown Plaza for some shopping.

Orrick Sacramento was pleased and proud to be able to participate in this year's Open World Program with Judge McManus and the Russian judges. Everyone who participated learned much from the exchange of information, and a good time was had by all.

November / December 2005