This seems to be spreading, several states now have alternate routes to become licensed. Thoughts on this?

https://www.reuters.com/legal/legalindustry/new-mexico-creates-bar-exam-alternative-lawyers-2026-08-04/

Disastrous. If your lawyer didn't go to a top 20 school, just say NOPE

VOTE BLUE and Free Wags

AI could replace 90% of lawyers, real estate agents, title companies, etc. A lot of our transactions are through middlemen whose sole purpose is to make things more complicated than they need be.

SBGold said:

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Disastrous. If your lawyer didn't go to a top 20 school, just say NOPE

VOTE BLUE and Free Wags

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Some of the worst advise every provided on BI.

For family law, criminal defense, local real estate, plaintiff work, or small business disputes, local attorneys with strong courtroom experience matter far more than their law school rank.

The best litigators IMO are tough SOBs that come out of less prominent schools. Some of the best trial attorneys I have seen in action in SoCal area are Peterocelli (Southwestern), Urquhar (Fordham), Gerardi (Loyola) (later disbarred), Sullivan (Penn) and Larack (Pitt) (also disbarred) and fit that bill. These guys did some of the most famous cases ever. For example, Gerardi was the guy who actually first chaired the "Slikwood" case , Petrocelli is known for the OJ case but also is a great business litigator, and Lerach won the Joe Camel case and the Dick Cheney/Haliburton case, and negotiated settlements of more than $17 billion with several large investment banks for Enron investors).

But for bet the firm litigation you generally need a big firm (and these cases often don't go to trial), there are plenty of good lawyers who are not top 20 at big firms, but odds are you will have interface with a top 20 law school attorney as some point, because that is where top 20l all firms tend to gravitate (along with government).

But clearly the best lawyers all come from Harvard and Yale law schools, since the present SCOTUS judge all came from one of those schools except for unicorn Justice Barrett, who went to Notre Dame Law, which is tied for number 20 on the USN&WR rankings.

BTW, Yale grads are known for failing State Bar exams because many Yale classes teach what the law should be, as opposed to what it is. For the record, Kavanaugh, Alito, and Thomas went to Yale.

Anarchistbear said:

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AI could replace 90% of lawyers, real estate agents, title companies, etc. A lot of our transactions are through middlemen whose sole purpose is to make things more complicated than they need be.

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I'm just waiting to see a computer face off against this judge:

Trial lawyers will always find work. Good actors are hard to find



Z

With regard to attorneys that defend employment cases our formula was:

Big Law Firm + Assigned attorney is graduate of elite law school = Large punitive damage award for our client


*Juries can smell an arrogant f@uck that has virtually no trial experience a mile away

SBGold said:

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One of the clowns you cited was disbarred, LMAO

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I went to a top 20 law school. Also, I actually read and comprehended wifeisfurd's post and learned while reading his post that two of those lawyers he mentioned were later disbarred. Please take the time to read what other folks write or don't bother responding using this character.

Yikes, you know you don't have to comment on all of
my responses. Kindness would be nice.

Vote Blue and Go Wags

GrinandBearit said:

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Oski's post got 9 stars and yours only got 4, maybe you should read into that. Or not.

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Tenner's back!

Appreciate you my dawg

Vote Blue and come home Wags

SBGold said:

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One of the clowns you cited was disbarred, LMAO

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Clowns: at least they could add. I noted two of them were disbarred. They both also were convicted of crimes and served jail time.

That you don't know who they are says way more about you. Garardi was the first lawyer ever to become a billionaire based on being a lawyer . Joe Jamal, another guy you would call a clown, has now outpaced him. Bill Lerack essentially created the securities derivative suit.

As I guy who was a Department Chair in an Am Law 20 and trained at no. 72 O'Melveny, I'm willing to concede that large law firms have their limitations, and as evidenced by the posts in this thread, the Top 20 law schools clearly produce very able attorneys, but some real arrogant losers as well.

Just for the record, the school I had my original law degree from isn't ranked in the US, and isn't even ABA approved.


(It does have a decent global ranking).

Who will I be next? You haven't gotten it right yet

SBGold said:

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Your frame of reference for great attorneys is from the last 80s, lol

Vote Blue and Vote Gavin

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Yet another ignorant remark.

Peteroceli was the Am Law litigator of the year in 2020. Billboard Magazine awarded him the best Music Lawyer in 2025. I could go on. He still practices today and has many big cases. Btw, the OJ case was the late '90s.

Urquar passed in 2020 and had been managing partner of Quinn Emmanuel, perhaps the best known litigation law firm in the country. The Legal 500 United Sates 2018 Edition had named him the top intellectual property litigator in the US, and since 2006, The Best Lawyers in America has recognized as "Top Ten" for work in the Commercial Bet-the-Company Litigation market.

Sullivan did not even practice in the 1980s as she was a child. She was Am Law Litigator of the Year in 2012.In three different years, 2007, 2017 and 2019, The National Law Journal featured jury verdict wins by her in its annual series: Winning: Successful Strategies from the Nation's Top Litigators. She has been featured for her trial victories on the front pages of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and on the cover of The American Lawyer all in the 2020s. And yes again, I could go on.

Garardi's life came apart in the 2020s. He was disbarred and is in prison. The famous Erin Brockovich case was in 1996, not in the 1980s. In 2003, Girardi was inducted into the Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame by the State Bar of California. The International Association of Top Professionals named Girardi the "Lawyer of the Decade" in 2018. In 2015, he was the first trial lawyer to be appointed to the California Judicial Council, the policymaking body of the state courts. Before his fall, he also was a heavyweight in CA Democratic politics.

Larach's legal life is detailed in the best seller Circle of Greed. He is best known for representing Enron shareholders for $7.12 billion award, still the largest sum ever recovered in a group of securities class-action lawsuits in U.S. history bringing down the company in 2001 (which is after the 1980s). For three decades of practice, he recovered an estimated $45 billion in judgments in class actions on behalf shareholders. Then he got indicted, jailed and disbarred in the late 2000s.

I picture you getting a call from one of these attorneys and just blowing them off, as your client gets lit-up.

bearister said:

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SBGold said:

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Your frame of reference for great attorneys is from the last 80s, lol

Vote Blue and Vote Gavin

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My Dad was a lawyer in the Bay Area that practiced from the late 1940's to 1994. He said the two best lawyers he ever saw in the courtroom were Vincent Hallinan and Joe Alioto.

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Since neither went to a top 20 law school, I'm sure Gold will throw some shade on these legal giants.

Meh, regionally good not true greats.

I went against Tony Serra for a crim case once and kicked his tail. Good times

VOTE BLUE and Free Wags

SBGold said:

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Meh, regionally good not true greats.

I went against Tony Serra for a crim case once and kicked his tail. Good times

VOTE BLUE and Free Wags

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So you are suggesting you are a legal giant?

nah, maybe pretty good in the region though

Vote Blue and Vote Gavin

SBGold said:

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nah, maybe pretty good in the region though

Vote Blue and Vote Gavin

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Why should anyone consider you that? State your credentials. Your posts suggest you don't have a clue what your talking about.

Fight in the courtroom!

Would love to battle her in court. Seems like an easy win for all her opponents.

VOTE BLUE AND FREE WAGS

wifeisafurd said:

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SBGold said:

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nah, maybe pretty good in the region though

Vote Blue and Vote Gavin

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Why should anyone consider you that? State your credentials. Your posts suggest you don't have a clue what your talking about.

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One person considers him that. He's trolling you, save your energy.

It's pretty telling how sexist some of you are on this forum.

BearlySane88 said:

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It's pretty telling how sexist some of you are on this forum.

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Every day I strive to become enlightened and a better man like my role model, your President, but alas, I remain a work in process.

Here here Bearister! Hero to the people

VOTE BLUE and Vote Gavin

Even more telling that you're proud about it. Very off putting. That can't be the type of message a Cal forum wants on their message boards.

SBGold said:

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Here here Bearister! Hero to the people

VOTE BLUE and Vote Gavin

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Not at all and definitely not to women. Being sexist doesn't make you cool. You're the one who would lambast any republican who said and posted the things Bearister and others post on this board yet you celebrate it when it's directed towards women on the right. It's disgusting and really shouldn't be tolerated on this forum.