Throughout a decade-long career on the federal bench, Southern District of Florida Judge Robin Rosenberg has dedicated her time to improving the legal profession.

When presiding over her first multidistrict litigation, Judge Rosenberg went through a lengthy process to ensure the plaintiff's leadership included a diverse array of lawyers — including young attorneys. She invented the “leadership development committee,” for plaintiffs attorneys who wanted to take an active role in the case, but didn’t have prior MDL experience. 

Judge Rosenberg also chairs the Civil Rules Committee, where she has fielded several proposals on how to improve federal litigation. And along with two fellow Southern District of Florida judges, and with help from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, the judge also created the Civil Discourse and Difficult Decisions program, which uses criminal statutes and mock trials to teach students about thoughtful decision making and civility while discussing controversial issues.

On this month’s episode of Approach The Bench, hosted by Law360 reporter Cara Bayles, we asked Judge Rosenberg about how the court system served as the model for that program, why diverse leadership is important to the future of the profession, and her love of the everyday, nitty-gritty work of case management.