Robinson, Mark P.

English

Loyola Marymount University

Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law SchoolDigital Commons at Loyola MarymountUniversity and Loyola Law SchoolLoyola of Los Angeles Law Review Law Reviews6-1-1996Walter Trinkaus—Attorney, Colleague, FriendMark P. RobinsonThis Introduction is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Reviews at Digital Commons @ Loyola Marymount University and LoyolaLaw School. It has been accepted for inclusion in Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@LoyolaMarymount University and Loyola Law School. For more information, please contact digitalcommons@lmu.edu.Recommended CitationMark P. Robinson, Walter Trinkaus—Attorney, Colleague, Friend, 29 Loy. L.A. L. Rev. 1383 (1996).Available at: https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/llr/vol29/iss4/7DEDICATION TO WALTER TRINKAUSWALTER TRINKAUS-ATTORNEY, COLLEAGUE, FRIENDMark P Robinson*I think it was Oliver Wendell Holmes who is quoted as saying, "Iwould rather socialize with lawyers than with any other group."Throughout the history of Western jurisprudence, law professors, textwriters, and judges commonly refer to a certain magic quality orvirtue known as "collegiality." If one looks in the dictionary for theword "collegiality," he or she is likely to find that it is considered tobe synonymous with colleagueship. That word in turn is commonlydefined as "a state of being involved with colleagues, i.e. to associateor unite; to cooperate or combine; as an associate in a profession ora civil or ecclesiastical office." In short, a colleague is a truepartner-a partner who shares not only material things, but intellectu-al and spiritual things also.Unfortunately, it is the writer's perception that the concept ofcollegiality in the law profession has been going downhill at anaccelerated rate, totally strangled by lawyers seeking sanctions againsteach other, and the court's putting its imprimatur on jungle-animal-like tactics, engaged in by even the most "prestigious" law firms.Therefore, you could hardly blame me for looking back, every nowand then, to view a mental picture of my friend and colleague WalterTrinkaus in some setting where he and I are sharing an intellectual orspiritual meal. I could tell you it was great fun and always inspiring.I loved to be with Walter Trinkaus. The legal profession, as a group,would do well to emulate his collegiality.While Walter had a wonderful ability to research in rarelytrodden forests of legal history and issues, and was no doubt a greatteacher, he was also an outstanding advocate. He loved to competeand to do battle on legal issues. He and I began our "partnership"back in the early sixties at the firm of Vaughn, Brandlin, Robinson &Roemer. I was specializing in civil litigation, and, therefore, it was"natural" that he and I would have many occasions to work togetheron the legal nuances involved, especially on procedural and eviden-* The Law Offices of Mark P. Robinson; Judge, Orange County Superior Court1983-84. Judge Robinson is a founding member and the first national president of theAmerican Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA).June 1996] 13831384 LOYOLA OF LOS ANGELES LAW REVIEW [Vol. 29:1371tiary issues. What made this collegiality even more fun was sharingour legal philosophies, then moving into general philosophy, and thento theology. We were constantly finding overlaps and commonsources among these disciplines. Later it was my good fortune that,in his latter years, he had time to work with me on complex caseswhich presented difficult and little-studied legal issues. It was at thatpoint that I think he was at his best. To extrapolate from a knownarea of the law and to transplant the product and apply it to a little-known area of the law was recreation to Walter.I have this eerie feeling that he is observing the writing of thistribute because I can clearly hear his modesty and humility comingthrough the ether-"You have said enough; enough is enough."

Walter Trinkaus—Attorney, Colleague, Friend

https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1966&amp;context=llr

Walter Trinkaus—Attorney, Colleague, Friend

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