Hon. Peter M. Reyes, Jr.

Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month

The Honorable Peter M. Reyes, Jr. is a judge on the Minnesota Court of Appeals. He previously served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Salvador M. Rosas, an associate at Robins Kaplan, a senior Intellectual Property lawyer at Cargill, Incorporated and a partner at Barnes & Thornburg LLP.

Judge Reyes is an active past and present member of numerous local, state, and national, and international bar associations and nonprofit organizations. He served as president of the Minnesota Hispanic Bar Association (MHBA), on the Board of Trustees for Mitchell-Hamline College of Law, and national president of the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA). Judge Reyes is active in the American Bar Association (ABA) as a member of the House of Delegates representing the HNBA. 

Judge Reyes received his undergraduate degree in Chemistry from the University of St. Thomas and his law degree from Mitchell-Hamline College of Law, graduating with Honors. In addition to his many recognitions and awards, Judge Reyes contributed to the recently published book, "My Story, From Humble Beginnings To Professional Success.”

Tell us about your community growing up. Looking back, how did they shape who you are now?

By way of background, all of my grandparents emigrated from Mexico to the United States to pursue the American Dream for themselves and their family. They had no education and worked the fields, eventually settling in St. Paul, Minnesota. I grew up in a small St. Paul suburb that was not very diverse. But I had strong cultural ties to family with our different food, language, and traditions. At that time, celebrating anything other than an “American Culture” was seen as a negative. But I learned to embrace and celebrate my culture because it is a very important part of who I am. I later realized that our country is stronger because we have people from a wide variety of backgrounds, experiences, and cultures. This is our strength as a Nation.

Describe your journey to law school. What motivated you to apply?

The law is my second career. I was the first one in my family to go to college and I received a degree in Chemistry. I had no one to go to in my family who could provide guidance. That made me realize the importance of having mentors. I actively sought them out later when I went to law school. I worked full-time as an Environmental Scientist before and during law school. I went to Mitchell Hamline College of Law with the intention of doing environmental consulting. I originally had no intention of practicing law. But I took an intellectual property (IP) course and was hooked. I took every IP course I could and decided that I wanted to change careers and practice IP law.

What was your law school experience like?

I really enjoyed law school. I found several communities there. The IP faculty and students were wonderful. We had a growing Latinx student body. I helped establish the first Hispanic/Latino Law Student Association and served as its first president. But I also had a strong connection with other nontraditional students who, like me, were working full-time and going to school part-time. We supported each other because we were all juggling work, school, and even family. We were a very collaborative group. I learned then that, even though law school can be competitive and later that the practice of law can be very adversarial, we can still be respectful of each other.

Did you know about appellate work in law school? If not, when and how did it first get on your radar and why were you drawn to it?

In law school I participated in Moot Court and took Advocacy and Advanced Advocacy courses. As an IP litigation attorney, appellate work became important to me from the very beginning. I voraciously read the opinions from the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit because they set most of the law for IP and patent. In addition, I enjoyed reading the different writing styles of the judges.

What was your experience like in your first few years as a practicing attorney?

I had a wonderful experience as an IP associate in a large litigation law firm. I had great colleagues, mentors, and cases. The work and learning curve were intense, but the cases and issues were fascinating. However, that experience reinforced the importance of having mentors to help guide me through the law-firm experience and the practice of law in general. That led me to establish the Mentorship Program as President of the Minnesota Hispanic Bar Association. I am proud to say that, over 20 years later, that program is .

Tell us about one of your appellate cases that you found particularly meaningful.

I oversaw my first appellate case as in-house counsel at Cargill, Inc. as a Senior IP Lawyer. I saw firsthand the importance of making sure that we had properly preserved issues in district court but on appeal just focusing on a few key issues. I became involved in the case while in district court months about a year before trial. The case had been hard-fought, but we lost. I took over the case on appeal and dealt directly with the opposing trial counsel who also handled the appeal. We eventually settled the case. In our final discussion, opposing counsel said, “Peter, you’re a good guy. The next time you are in New York, give me a call. Drinks are on me!” My law school lesson of being a zealous but respectful advocate had paid off.

How often do you encounter Hispanic/Latinx people in the appellate field? Why do you think that representation is important?

I seldom encounter Hispanic/Latinx people in the appellate field. I had the same experience in IP law. As President of the Hispanic National Bar Association, I established the HNBA IP Law Institute, which introduces 25 Latinx law students to the area of IP law every year. Programs like that one and TAP are vitally important to provide opportunities to everyone.

What advice would you give to a law student or early career attorney from an underrepresented background who aspires to be where you are now?

Believe to achieve! Believe in yourself to achieve your goals. Pursue your own dreams and passions, wherever they may take you. Create a strategic plan for yourself as to where you want to be one year, three years, five years, ten years from now. Have a plan but be flexible and open to opportunities that may come your way. I did not do that early in my career and only learned later the importance of being intentional about your path. Otherwise, as Yogi Berra said, “If you don't know where you are going, you'll end up someplace else!”

What’s one thing law schools and/or the appellate bar can do to ensure our highest courts are representative of all our communities?

Provide an open and welcoming community that allows everyone the opportunity to succeed.