It may be a generalization to put individuals in a box based on their age or the generation they belong to. But it certainly helps to give us some level of understanding of how they tend to process information and come up with decisions. For prosecutors, law enforcement and victim advocates, having insight on how a judge thinks and arrives at a decision is critical such that you can tailor the presentation of evidence and the case in accordance with their preferences and appeal to their values. This session provides a guideline on how this can be done.

This webinar’s instructor is Michelle Welch from the Virginia Attorney General’s Office where she is the Senior Assistant Attorney General and Director of the Animal Law Unit. She is Virginia’s resident expert to all things animal law, acting as a special prosecutor in animal cruelty and animal fighting cases.

Specifics discussed in this course include:

• The composition of judges on the bench by generation.
• General advice and pointers on how to best traverse working with a judge through
• research to understand their preferences, personality, background, and biases which may affect how they decide cases.
• The Baby Boomers: Their unique characteristics that drive their choices, opinions, and decisions, and pointers on how to work with them.
  • Their political stance and inclination for hard work.
  • Their tendency for loyalty, optimism and following rules.
  • Their motivation based on personal growth and gratification.
  • Working with boomers by paying attention to their ideas and providing them the logic behind things.
  • Connecting with them by showing respect, professionalism, and demonstrating to them the importance of the issue and the case.
• Generation X: Their qualities, core values, and some reminders on how to best work with them.
  • Their need for work-life balance and their life choices propelled by an entrepreneurial spirit and global worldview.
  • Their dynamic personality that is fun, independent, and pragmatic.
  • Their high level of education and job expectations.
  • How Gen Xers value independence and competence in the workplace.
  • Their need to pursue other interests and have fun.
• Millennials: The things they value in work and in life and how to effectively work with them.
  • The lifestyle they lead characterized by consumerism and spirituality, fun and civic duty, morality and tolerance, empathy and self-worth, and optimism and realism.
  • Their predisposition to show confidence and place a high value on their selves.
  • Their propensity to challenge traditions and come up with creative solutions.
  • The value they place of meritocracy.
  • The high level of empathy they demonstrate reinforced by their high morals and sense of civic duty.

Michelle addressed the following concerns during the Q&A:

• Practical tips on how to research a judge’s background.
• Introducing one’s self to a judge who’ll be handling your case as a prosecutor.
• Other factors that may determine how a judge is going to come up with decisions.

Audience Comments

• “This webinar exceeded my expectations!” –Crystal
• “It was interesting to hear that the dynamic with respect to dealing with judges, attorneys and other members of the Court family are relatively consistent across the board and the information provided on how to deal with the issues that come up was very useful.” — Alycia
• “As a therapist, I found the information discussing how best to work with persons from different generations helpful. I am a Baby Boomer who sometimes finds it challenging when working with Millennials. Thank you!” — Adrienne
• “Getting a different perspective of the Judges from different generations; and helping me understand as a Baby Boomer why my younger staff, and young judges, don’t share the same work ethic. We work until the job is done, even if it goes past 5:00 pm, whereas the younger staff and judges are more clock watchers at 5:00 pm, or earlier are their quitting times. And, they think nothing of calling me after hours or weekends for work-related matters, but get upset if I called them after hours or weekends.” — Bruce
• “I found the discussion on the informality of Millennial Judges very interesting. I am experiencing that and as a Boomer, I am finding it hard to come to terms with. Thanks for giving me ideas on what I need to do.” — Dawn
• “Thank you so much for the amazing insight and perspective on working with Judges. As an advocate for Domestic Violence and Child Abuse, this truly made me think outside the box to better connect with our Judges and serve our clients. If this webinar can be emailed to me I would greatly appreciate it so that I may share this with the rest of our staff. — Stacey
• “The presenter told stories to help ensure the information was retained. Lots of useful information!” — Erikka
• “Wow! This webinar opened my eyes and gave me so many tips on how to approach colleagues, leadership, and even those gate holders in the community. I reflected a lot about myself as well. Thank you for this webinar. I suggest repeating this session again.” — Kim
• “The author proved to be well-versed on the subject matter. Well done!” — KIM