USD Magazine Summer 2021

benefit of the litigants who appeared without counsel. She had great ideas.” While Lorna has many profes- sional accomplishments, she says her involvement with implement- ing a case management system for San Diego’s family court sys- tem is a career highlight. “San Diego had such good success that there was a task force created by the State of California by the ju- dicial branch in San Francisco,” she explains. “They put me on that task force and we ended up writing the rules and getting them adopted. I am very proud to have been a part of that. Case management is now mandatory in family law, and I helped write the rules of court and got it passed.” Lorna is pragmatic when asked what advice she’d give to those considering a legal career. “I had a very busy home life when I was a law student. I was really more focused on getting the degree and passing the bar. I’ve talked quite openly that it wasn’t my goal to be on law review or to be number one in the class. My goal was to get through it, and I’ve talked to students about it. I tell them, ‘If you can’t be number one it’s okay. You can still be the pre- siding judge. What you need is the reputation and the work ethic when you get out of law school.’” Cynthia too, has some advice for those considering law school. “I can be pretty conservative on crime, but I’m a liberal on social issues. And when I went into be- ing a prosecutor, there weren’t a lot of liberals who did that. Basi- cally, liberals gave up that space and were all defense attorneys clawing to try to get something done. We gave away all that power, which was ridiculous.” She tells those who want to change the world for the better through the legal system to con-

Cynthia Alksne ‘85 (JD) is a frequent MSNBC legal analyst.

26

USD MAGAZINE