Reyna, Jimmie V.

Judge Reyna was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit by President Barack Obama in 2011. Prior to his appointment, Judge Reyna was an international trade attorney and shareholder at Williams Mullen, where he directed the firm’s Trade and Customs Practice Group (1998-2011), led its Latin America Task Force (2006-08), and served on its board of directors (2009-11). He was an associate and partner at the Washington law firm of Stewart and Stewart (1986-98).  From 1981 to 1986, Judge Reyna was a solo practitioner in Albuquerque, New Mexico and, prior to that, an associate at an Albuquerque, New Mexico law firm.

Judge Reyna was appointed and served on the U.S. roster of dispute settlement panelists for trade disputes under Chapter 19 of the North American Free Trade Agreement (1994-2011), and the U.S. Indicative List of Non-Governmental Panelists for the World Trade Organization, Dispute Settlement Mechanism, for disputes both in trade in goods and trade in services (1995- 2011). Judge Reyna is the author of two books, Passport to North American Trade: Rules of Origin and Customs Procedures Under the NAFTA (Shepards 1995), and The GATT Uruguay Round, A Negotiating History: Services, 1986-1992 (Kluwer 1993) and numerous articles on international trade and customs issues. He was the founder and senior co-editor of the Hispanic National Bar Association Journal of Law and Policy.

Judge Reyna has worked throughout his career towards the positive development of the U.S. legal profession. He served in various leadership positions in the ABA Section on International Law and the Section on Dispute Settlement. He was a founder and member of the board of directors of the U.S.-Mexico Law Institute. He has provided nearly two decades of leadership in the Hispanic National Bar Association, including serving as its National President (2006-07).

Judge Reyna has received numerous awards, including the Ohtli Award (the highest honor bestowed by the Mexican government on non-Mexican citizens), and has been recognized as among the nation’s 100 most influential Latino leaders by the Hispanic Business Magazine (2011), the Latino Leaders Magazine (2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018), and the Washington Business Journal (2010).  Judge Reyna is active in educational and pro bono projects involving U.S. patent law.  He also has participated as a lecturer in judicial ethics and rule of law training programs in Mexico (2017) and Colombia (2020).  In 2017, Judge Reyna received The Charles Force Hutchison and Marjorie Smith Hutchison Medal, the University of Rochester’s highest alumni award presented for career achievements and notable service.  In 2018, he received The Hon. William C. Conner Inn Excellence Award.  In 2015, the first intellectual property Inn of Court in Minnesota was founded, and it was named the Honorable Jimmie V. Reyna Intellectual Property American Inn of Court.