THE ROBING ROOM

In a complex administrative law matter, Judge Cote exhibited many of the unfortunate qualities expressed by others here. It seemed clear that she had pre-judged the case and the parties before hearing the merits, and proceeded to rule accordingly without regard for the facts and law. Definitely seemed to value timeliness and procedural technicalities, whether based in the rules or her own sense of how parties should behave, above all else. She is smart and seems hardworking, and tended to ground her rulings on discretionary issues that are more difficult to appeal. Overall, an unsettling experience, and the only time in my career that I felt my client was denied a meaningful opportunity to be heard on the merits in a U.S. court.