Profiles in Litigation

Though perhaps not quite Pulitzer Prize material like “Profiles in Courage,” the LA Times has this lovely profile of Jeff Fisher, the (young) Seattle lawyer who argued and won both Blakely and Crawford v. Washington last term before the Supreme Court.  Entitled “The Supreme Beginner,” the article is authored by David Feige, a public defender and a Soros Justice Media Fellow, and it rightfully suggests that Jeff Fisher now “might be one of the most influential lawyers of his generation.” 

The article details how Fisher as an appellate attorney took over, and then won, Blakely and Crawford, both legal blockbusters and either of which alone could be consider a career’s crowning achievement.   The article is filled with great tales and quotes, but I particularly like Judge Stephen Reinhardt, for whom Fisher clerked, describing Fisher’s accomplishments this way: “That’s like borrowing a sailboat and discovering America—twice.”