The law schools of famous lawyers
Choosing a Law School can be a difficult decision. In addition to the obvious things like ranking, expenses, location, and reputation, many potential law students are interested in learning which famous lawyers come from the schools they plan to attend. However, unless someone is doing independent research on numerous institutions or wants to dig into the background of a particular lawyer they’re a fan of, there’s no really good resource that provides such information. To remedy this, I thought I’d select a few of my favorite lawyers and list where they got their Juris Doctors from.
My personal favorite lawyer has to be former California prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi of ‘The Manson Murders’ fame. Mr. Bugliosi was able to convict Charles Manson even though Manson was never at the scene of the crime and committed his crime by brainwashing and planning the Tate/La Bianca murders from afar. Since then, he has become an internationally acclaimed writer, beginning with the legendary ‘Helter Skelter’ and including the more recent ‘Outrage’ and ‘The Indictment of George W. Bush for Murder’. Vincent Bugliosi attended UCLA Law School, graduating in 1964.
Next up is the famous lawyer and television commentator Gerry Spence. Mr. Spence is well known as a commentator during the OJ Simpson trials and has the distinction of never having lost a case in 40 years. He attended the University of Wyoming School of Law and earned his degree from it in 1952. He is known for pioneering the ‘Matlock’ style of ‘narrative’ law. He uses carefully crafted stories, allegories, metaphors and emotional hooks to convince a jury of his convictions.
No list would be complete without Professor Alan Dershowitz of Harvard Law School. In addition to his role in the OJ trial, Mr. Dershowitz earned a reputation as a great civil liberties advocate. He graduated at the top of his class from Yale Law School and was editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal. He has one of the most prestigious client lists of any attorney, including such notables as Michael Milken, Leona Helmsley, Mike Tyson, Penthouse, Patricia Hearst, John Landis, and even attorneys F. Lee Bailey (Boston University Law School 1960) and William Kunstler. . (Colombian Law School).
Speaking of the OJ Simpson trial, Johnnie Cochran attended Loyola University Los Angeles Law School, as did passionate TV and radio commentator Gloria Allred. Barry Scheck of the ‘Innocence Project’ at Cardozo Law School earned his degree from UC Berkeley Law School. Robert Shapiro, OJ’s attorney for much of the early stages of the trial, attended UCLA Law School. Across the court, Marcia Clark attended Southwestern University School of Law and Christopher Darden attended the University of California Hastings School of Law. Lastly, on the other side of the bench, Judge Lance Ito earned his law degree from UC Berkeley (1975).
Finally, I thought I’d add some of my personal favorites, mostly based on his accomplishments and personality. I’m a big fan of radio host Larry Elder and Larry got his JD from the University of Michigan Law School in 1977. His sometime rival on KABC radio is civil rights attorney Leo Terrel who attended college of Law from UCLA. Ever since Larry went off the air, I’ve become a fan of Mark Levin, who got his JD from Temple University. Mark has achieved tremendous success in the last two years and is most recently the author of his best selling book, ‘Liberty and Tyranny’.