Married to Robin for twenty eight years. Four children.
The rest of it is mostly long projects with a start date, a set of steps that cannot be skipped, and somebody else depending on the finish.
Forty feet down, at night
Off the coast of Hawaii, after dark, about forty feet below the surface, with Robin, watching manta rays feed.
That is not something that happens because a Tuesday felt adventurous. It takes certification first, then a plan, then a boat, then the willingness to have done the tedious preparation months earlier so that the night itself is calm. The pattern shows up in the practice more often than the diving does. The composure people notice at a hearing was assembled long before anyone was watching.
Photograph to place here: Jesse and Robin on the boat before the night dive off Hawaii. Placeholder, not a real image.
Eleven days on foot
In 2018 he walked Philmont with his oldest son. Eleven days and roughly a hundred and ten miles, on foot, carrying what they needed.
Three of his sons each earned Eagle Scout. That is their achievement and belongs to them. What belongs to him is eleven days of walking, and the years of being present that made a teenager willing to spend them with his father.
Photograph to place here: Jesse and his oldest son on the trail at Philmont, 2018. Placeholder, not a real image.
Two basements and two decks
Two finished basements and two decks, built himself.
It is a small thing, and it explains something. A conversation with a machinist, a foreman or an engineer runs the same way as a conversation with a general counsel, because somebody who has built a thing tends to ask better questions about how a product actually works. In a patent case those first conversations with the people who built the accused product are where the useful facts are, and they go better when nobody is performing.
Photograph to place here: the deck, finished, from the yard. Placeholder, not a real image.
A degree earned at night
A Master of Divinity in Christian Education, finished in 2015, while in full time practice. The docket did not shrink to accommodate it.
Around it: leading a middle school ministry, teaching a small group at church, substitute teaching at his children's school, and five years on the board of Northland Christian School. Standing in front of a room of middle schoolers who did not choose to be there is closer preparation for a jury than most continuing legal education.
Read these recommendations in full on LinkedIn, where they were written, or read all seven here.