Judge Robert Kirsch ’91 is widely recognized as a long-time champion for juvenile justice and at-risk youth, which includes his establishment of a state-wide juvenile re-entry program. He visited Fordham Law School on March 20 for an insightful fireside chat led by Suzanne Endrizzi ’96, assistant dean of the Center for Judicial Events & Clerkships (CJEC).
Kirsch has seen nearly everything on the bench, having adjudicated high-profile cases—including a 36-year-old cold case investigation and a “hatchet-wielding hitchhiker” murder conviction—on the Superior Court and, more recently, securities fraud lawsuits and emergency temporary restraining orders on the District Court.
“There’s no graduation or gradual progression to becoming a federal judge. I was confirmed on May 8; on May 9 I got 407 cases,” recalled Kirsch of his first day on the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. “The breadth of law that comes before the district court judge on a daily basis is stunning and unbelievable—class action lawsuits, security fraud lawsuits, criminal cases, administrative law cases, Federal Tort Claims Act cases, [and]False Claims Act cases. It’s never ending.
“It’s an amazing experience and challenging beyond comprehension, but thrilling,” he added.
Prior to his appointment to the district court by the U.S. Senate in 2023, Kirsch was a judge on the New Jersey Superior Court for Union County starting in 2010. He served as a trial court judge in the Criminal Division and also in both the Civil and Family Divisions of the Superior Court.
Earlier in his career, Kirsch served as an assistant U.S. attorney in Newark, handling various civil litigation matters. Afterwards, he served as a federal prosecutor, specializing in sophisticated white-collar fraud and handling a number of nationally high-profile criminal prosecutions.
During the fireside chat Kirsch spoke of his experience transitioning from the state court in three different areas to the federal system as well as his commitment to a life of public service. Pursuing the bench in his 40s, however, was a “completely foreign” concept and pivot in his career, according to Kirsch. “I was so foreign to the state system that I got lost and had to call my courthouse on my way to work. That was a perfect metaphor for how much I had to learn.”
He remarked, “The cases that I have now are monumental in the sense of magnitude and, in some cases, hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars are at stake—but you’re not removing a child from their house, incarcerating a child, or forcing a father out of a home. These are the decisions family court judges make every day with no fanfare, no glory, and with a tightened stomach because the decisions are unbelievably consequential.”
“[Service on the Superior Court] was the greatest, most valuable experience of my professional life and nothing will ever come close to it,” Kisch added. “It definitely made me a better person.”
Kirsch also dispensed advice on how to become a great advocate in the courtroom, “Trying cases is terrifying stuff … and that anxiety never stops, by the way. I couldn’t imagine how nervous I would be when I had my hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, because I speak for a living. This is what I’ve done for 30-something years in courtrooms, in front of juries, and in lecture halls.”
He continued, “I don’t remember being that anxious when walking in, but, just like a trial lawyer, you start talking and that muscle memory comes in from doing it over and over again. So my advice would be do it—just do it because you can.”
“We were so pleased to welcome Judge Kirsch for this insightful discussion about a career dedicated to public service,” said CJEC Assistant Dean Suzanne M. Endrizzi ’96.
“Fordham students and others attending appreciated Judge Kirsch’s fervent recounting of his state court experiences and his powerful commitment to public service,” added Professor James Brudney, Joseph Crowley Chair in Labor and Employment Law and CJEC faculty director.