United States Magistrate Judges play a vital role in the operation of the federal courts. In this week’s Touro Law Review podcast, Magistrate Judge James M. Wicks discusses why he became a federal magistrate judge, the process for applying and being selected, and his various responsibilities for criminal and civil cases in the Eastern District of New York.
Judge Wicks was inspired, in substantial part, by his clerkship with the Hon. Arthur Spatt and becoming a judge was a “calling” for him. As Judge Wicks explains, the selection process for a federal magistrate is thorough and lengthy, entailing a written application, panel interviews, and an FBI background investigation. In the last part of the discussion with Associate Dean Rodger Citron, Judge Wicks describes his work on criminal and civil cases and provides guidance for attorneys on how to navigate a familiar challenge in civil litigation – discovery disputes – and offers some thoughts on how artificial intelligence (AI) may affect the practice of law.
Brought to you by the Touro Law Review.
Our guest today is Magistrate Judge James M. Wicks.
Magistrate Judge James M. Wicks
James M. Wicks was appointed as a United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of New York on April 26, 2021. Prior to his appointment, Judge Wicks spent over 25 years at Farrell Fritz, P.C. in New York, where he was a Partner, served on the Management Committee and later as the firm’s first General Counsel. Judge Wicks’ practice concentrated in business and commercial litigation, as well as attorney ethics and professionalism issues. Prior to Farrell Fritz, he was an associate with White & Case. While in private practice, Judge Wicks also served as a Receiver and Special Master in various matters, as well as a court-appointed mediator in appellate matters.
Judge Wicks has served as an Adjunct Professor at St. John’s University School of Law since 2005. He has served a number of leadership roles in the region, including as Chairs of several not-for-profits, as well as Chair of the E.D.N.Y. Civil Litigation Advisory Committee; member of the State and Federal Judicial Advisory Council; member of the N.Y.S. Judicial Institute of Professionalism; former Chair of the N.Y.S. Bar Association’s Commercial & Federal Litigation Section; and Chair of the Federal Bar Council’s Central Islip Courthouse Committee.
Judge Wicks graduated from St. John’s University School of Law in 1989 where he was Executive Articles Editor of the Law Review, and received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Wheeling College in 1983, where he was inducted into Alpha Sigma Nu, the Jesuit National Honor Society as well as Psi Chi, the Psychology National Honor Society. Following law school, he served as Law Clerk to the Honorable Arthur D. Spatt in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
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