Well-known lawyers - who lives up to the hype? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Anon because people might be able to piece together the cases I'm talking about, which I'm tangentially connected to

I'm curious to hear who out there is as good as their reputation or notoriety suggests. This probably mostly implicates litigators, especially trial lawyers, but any intel on transactional lawyers is welcome too. I'll start:

Sean Hecker, Kaplan Hecker & Fink: I caught a snippet of one of his biggest trial wins (white collar crim), and he was extremely impressive. He was crossing a government witness, and even though his line of questioning really wasn't that damning, his demeanor and delivery had the witness sputtering and looking terrible. He struck a perfect balance of coming across as entirely confident without straying into arrogance. I remember looking at his wealthy client, and thinking that with all the fancy houses, boats, watches, etc. this guy probably owns, I'd bet he doesn't doubt for a second that this lawyer was the best money he's ever spent. I had a moment of "oh, so this is what an elite trial lawyer looks like." Granted, I haven't seen a lot of trials, but his talent was immediately apparent and undeniable.

Larry Robbins, Robbins Russell: this was in Zoom court so maybe not entirely fair, but he was just OK. He was crossing an expert witness for a discovery dispute, and while he did a perfectly adequate job, he kind of oversold it and came across as needlessly angry and combative. In fairness to him this wasn't really a context that demanded a superstar performance, but I wasn't especially impressed. His brief wasn't anything too special either (I know he probably didn't write it, anyways). He also had one of those old beige landline phones clamped between his shoulder and his ear any time he wasn't talking, and it looked kind of goofy.

[Anonymous User]

Anon because people might be able to piece together the cases I'm talking about, which I'm tangentially connected to

I'm curious to hear who out there is as good as their reputation or notoriety suggests. This probably mostly implicates litigators, especially trial lawyers, but any intel on transactional lawyers is welcome too. I'll start:

Sean Hecker, Kaplan Hecker & Fink: I caught a snippet of one of his biggest trial wins (white collar crim), and he was extremely impressive. He was crossing a government witness, and even though his line of questioning really wasn't that damning, his demeanor and delivery had the witness sputtering and looking terrible. He struck a perfect balance of coming across as entirely confident without straying into arrogance. I remember looking at his wealthy client, and thinking that with all the fancy houses, boats, watches, etc. this guy probably owns, I'd bet he doesn't doubt for a second that this lawyer was the best money he's ever spent. I had a moment of "oh, so this is what an elite trial lawyer looks like." Granted, I haven't seen a lot of trials, but his talent was immediately apparent and undeniable.

I've had this exact same reaction when observing David Boies at work, so I'd put him up there. Obviously his management of BSF as a firm is a whole different kettle of fish; as a trial lawyer, or as a legal thinker observed in action, he lives up to the reputation.

[SamuelDanforth]

I'd add Ted Wells. One of the most charismatic and persuasive advocates I've ever seen. He could have sold me the shirt off my back.

[Anonymous User]

I thought Mark Perry from Gibson Dunn was the real deal the one time I saw him argue in court - hands down the single best oral advocate I have seen in a year of clerking and many years of practice.

[Anonymous User]

I've seen Kathleen Sullivan litigate. She was masterful.

[Anonymous User]

Watched Juanita Brooks at Fish over a multi-week trial while I clerked. Judge, jury, co-clerks, everyone was completely enamored with her despite some incredibly dry material. She was remarkable.

[Anonymous User]

Agree wholeheartedly with two that have been posted.

The grace with which Kathleen Sullivan delivers an oral argument is unmatched in my experience.

And Larry Robbins I was not impressed with at all.

[Anonymous User]

I saw Dean Kristy from Fenwick argue the motion to dismiss for the "funding secured" securities suit, and he did as well as someone could under the circumstances. That is, an unwinnable motion with hilariously bad facts. Unsurprisingly, the motion got eviscerated by Judge Chen.

Also, I'm pretty sure Elon fired Fenwick from the case after losing that motion, lmao.

[Prudent_Jurist]

Rudy G. America’s Mayor, baby.

[nixy]

Rudy G. America’s Mayor, baby.

Still feverish, I see.

[Lacepiece23]

I really want to see some of the PI lawyers like Tom Kline, Willie Gary, Mark Lanier, and Gerry Spence (I know he’s criminal).

I bet they are bigger and all the biglaw folks. Well, I know Mark Lanier is because he routinely beats them.

[Prudent_Jurist]

Rudy G. America’s Mayor, baby.

Still feverish, I see.

When you think about it, he did more than exceed the negative hype.

[Anonymous User]

I really want to see some of the PI lawyers like Tom Kline, Willie Gary, Mark Lanier, and Gerry Spence (I know he’s criminal).

I bet they are bigger and all the biglaw folks. Well, I know Mark Lanier is because he routinely beats them.

I haven't seen her argue, and I know she isn't a pure trial lawyer, but I saw Elizabeth Cabraser present a settlement agreement. Not a context where I could glean anything useful about her abilities, but I will note that she's tiny. Like, physically, she's a very small person. "Elf-like" may be an appropriate descriptor.

I know you weren't referencing physical size, but whatever.

[nixy]

Rudy G. America’s Mayor, baby.

Still feverish, I see.

When you think about it, he did more than exceed the negative hype.

This is fair.

[ExpOriental]

Rudy G. America’s Mayor, baby.

Still feverish, I see.

When you think about it, he did more than exceed the negative hype.

Normal scrutiny

[Anonymous User]

I saw Evan Chesler from Cravath at a hearing. He came across as extremely smart, very relaxed, and just super super amiable and nice.

[jotarokujo]

what about transactional lawyers? most biglaw folks, particular partners, are transactional

[Anonymous User]

Are there ways to watch these litigators besides watching them live (in person or zoom)?

[Anonymous User]

Are there ways to watch these litigators besides watching them live (in person or zoom)?

I wish there was. It saddens me to think about the vast repository of material to study that simply doesn't exist because of the federal court camera ban. Luckily that seems to be changing, however slowly.

It's funny, if you go on reddit you can find people following zoom court proceedings like soap operas, and it's just Cooley grads doing arraignments and shit like that. Then again, actual high stakes civil litigation would probably bore the pants off a layperson. They watch for the trashy drama anyways. But I'll bet that guys like Mark Lanier could kill on YouTube live.

[Anonymous User]

Jared Bobrow of Orrick, who comes across as the smartest, most thoughtful guy in the room.

[Anonymous User]

I saw Diane Wood asked this question once and she said Michael Dreeben arguing without notes in U.S. v. Skoien (en banc) was the best appellate advocacy she'd ever seen

[Anonymous User]

Worth the hype: Liz Cabraser, Morgan Chu, Bob Van Nest, Matt Powers.

Not impressed (off day?): Ted Boutrous, Patty Glaser, Joe Cotchett, Bill Lee.

[Anonymous User]

Plaintiff side - Fidelma Fitzpatrick of Motley Rice. Absolute mastery and magic.

[Anonymous User]

David Elsberg at Selendy & Gay. I watched him make one of the most senior executives at one of Wall Street’s biggest banks look like an absolute moron with just eviscerating questioning. It was so cool to watch.

[Anonymous User]

I saw Evan Chesler from Cravath at a hearing. He came across as extremely smart, very relaxed, and just super super amiable and nice.

Anon because at Cravath. He's like this in person and in one-on-one interactions too. It seems sincere, although I wonder how much of it is because he has such a public role internally and externally. If he were a jerk everyone would see it or hear of it in short order.