Chief Justice Myron Steele Interview

October 23, 2011

Delaware: Chief Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court, Myron Steele, gave an interview to Who's Who Legal in October of 2011. Some highlights from the interview include:

What drew him to the practice of law:

"The fact that you could be approached by someone that needed your help, and often in desperate straits, and out of all the possible choices they had they would come to you, and then it would become your professional responsibility to do the very best you could for them. I just liked the idea of standing up for people and being able to present their cause."

What makes a good judge:

"Patience with everything, consideration of other people and a good work ethic. If I were to be graded on a report card I would probably get a "C-" for patience. I hope I would get an "A" for work ethic. The expression 'sober as a judge' does not mean not drinking, it just means a sober kind of approach. Of course, intellect helps."

His advice to those considering joining the judiciary:

"I would say get the correct training, either as a litigator or a transaction lawyer. The worst thing that can happen is for someone to sit on the bench who has no understanding of the law they are going to be applying. The bench is not a good place for on-the-job training. So, if you do believe you would like to sit on chancery or any equity, business court, or on a commercial court, practise law in that area: enhance your knowledge and your on-the-job knowledge. That way you will learn how you think things ought to work as you’ll see where they’ve gone wrong, and you’ll get a much better feel, if you want to become a judge, of how to correct errant law."

What does he wish would happen to make his job easier:

"I wish there could be ways of enhancing public respect for the law and the judicial system. I would stress to the public that we genuinely stand for equal access and that justice is not just a word. People don’t see how everyone works every day to try and provide an environment where people who are in the system as litigants, in any capacity, walk out the courthouse door feeling that the best that possibility could have been done was done. If in some way my career has brought us closer to that goal I would be satisfied."