Barry Law School?

[surfnole]

Would you retain an attorney that went to Barry Law School? My impression is that Barry Law school is for students that couldn't get into any other law school ie no admission requirements. Is that true?

The lawyer I am considering was recommended by another lawyer I respect, but she went to Barry and that raises a red flag.

 

[More Kirk Less Spock]

Depends - what is her experience? How long has she been practicing? How complex is the matter you need help with?

I've known lawyers from ivy league schools who proved terribly inept at trial.

 

[DDennis73]

The previous poster is right. Look up how long the person has been practicing. For someone that has been out 5+ years the experience they have is far more important than the law school they went to.

 

[NDallasRuss]

Hard to say. I'd have to examine her briefs to be sure.

 

[Gonolz]

It is a Tier 4 law school. There are only three tiers of better law schools.

Maybe she partied her ass off in college and screwed up the LSAT because she was banging dudes until 5am the day of the test.

To truly know whether you should "retain" her, we would need to see pics.

 

[tbdnole_70_08]

Some funny posts in this thread, but in all seriousness, Barry is a third tier law school. In actuality, there are four tiers. I know several Barry grads that graduated in the top five percent of their class and they are just as sharp or sharper than their contemporaries from higher tiered law schools. I hope Tribe responds to this thread, as I've read some of his posts on the subject of law schools and rankings and respect his opinions on the matter quite a bit.

 

[Lemon Thrower]

I don't know much about Barry but Nova is pretty easy to get into and lacking in reputation, but I have two friends who went there who are pretty smart guys in terms of IQ, not grades. I would definitely hire them. Of course, coming out of Nova, they are personal injury lawyers so its not like they are being asked to write a Supreme Court brief or tackle an ERISA issue.

 

[WarchiefUSC]

While there are some attys that went there that couldnt get into other law schools there are many that went there to take advantage of their part time program-Older students as second careers. I know many attys who graduated from barry that are better attys than those produced at top teir schools. The fact they were recommended by another atty speaks volumes. As an atty i would not recommend another atty that i wasnt 100% sure could do the job and take care of the client...

This post was edited on 3/23 1:39 PM by WarchiefUSC

 

[More Kirk Less Spock]

I often wonder, of those who post here regularly, what percentage are attorneys.

Feels like at least 10%.

 

[FSUTribe76]

Originally posted by tbdnole_70_08:
Some funny posts in this thread, but in all seriousness, Barry is a third tier law school. In actuality, there are four tiers. I know several Barry grads that graduated in the top five percent of their class and they are just as sharp or sharper than their contemporaries from higher tiered law schools. I hope Tribe responds to this thread, as I've read some of his posts on the subject of law schools and rankings and respect his opinions on the matter quite a bit.

I work in a very small niche area where FSU, UF and Miami is the "lowest" grade of law schools we regularly see. Most of my opposing counsel are from schools in the Top 40 or so plus FSU, UF and Miami. So I've never worked against anyone from Barry or worse. I think there MAY have been some Stetson grads on the government side of things as they pay peanuts but even most of them are FSU, UF and Miami grads. As a general rule, highly intelligent attorneys would NOT end up going to Barry. The LSAT is basically a straightline intelligent test and if you have a good LSAT even with horrible grades you're going to get into at least UF or FSU or failing that Stetson. So Barry is NOT for smart guys and gals who just partied too much. If anything that described me with my 99th percentile LSAT and 3.0 as I got As in classes without attendance and Fs in those where you had to show up on the regular. I still got into every law school that I applied to including several in the top 10 and ultimately chose a school ranked 29th because of its big scholarships and closeness to an ex-gf that was a gf at the time. Even if I had a 2.0 I would expect to get into Stetson or higher.

But...realistically having an intelligent attorney is only really important in certain niche areas like mine or anywhere you are dealing with highly complex professions (engineering for example) or intellectual property (i.e. Chemistry and whatnot). If you're dealing in low level attorney work ie the common civil, contract, and criminal cases then if anything an intelligent attorney may be detrimental, charisma and General argumentation and persuasion skills are just as important if not more so. So as long as the Barry guy understands what you're talking about and you're not talking over his head with too much requisite medical, engineering, chemical, physical etc...knowledge or capacity to understand...then if you're comfortable with him and trust the other attorney go with the Barry Guy. I wouldn't trust anyone from Barry to do my trademark and copyright cases but I would trust them to handle my employee dispute.

This post was edited on 3/23 5:03 PM by FSUTribe76

 

[surfnole]

Thanks all. The Barry attorney has been practicing for 10 years. It's to handle a divorce which I expect is not too complex because my finances are generally straightforward. There's retirement accounts, rental properties, the house, alimony, custody etc.

I'm dreading the possibility of lifetime alimony and heard that a law may be passed this year to limit that. Maybe an attorney can string the case out until that law passes.

One of my attorney friends recommended an Orlando firm, but the guy who runs the firm does mostly criminal work and he has a lady on staff from UF for three years that does family law. My attorney friend says you want a guy who has been in front of a judge before in case it ends up in court. The more experience the better. Anyway, I wouldn't be getting the guy he recommended, probably couldn't afford him, and I would be getting somebody on his staff who was not recommended.

 

[FSUTribe76]

Originally posted by surfnole:
Thanks all. The Barry attorney has been practicing for 10 years. It's to handle a divorce which I expect is not too complex because my finances are generally straightforward. There's retirement accounts, rental properties, the house, alimony, custody etc.

I'm dreading the possibility of lifetime alimony and heard that a law may be passed this year to limit that. Maybe an attorney can string the case out until that law passes.

One of my attorney friends recommended an Orlando firm, but the guy who runs the firm does mostly criminal work and he has a lady on staff from UF for three years that does family law. My attorney friend says you want a guy who has been in front of a judge before in case it ends up in court. The more experience the better. Anyway, I wouldn't be getting the guy he recommended, probably couldn't afford him, and I would be getting somebody on his staff who was not recommended.

It's definitely true that it's usually better to go with a local the judge knows (as long as its a good rep) than an objectively better attorney from elsewhere. Especially when dealing in the dime a dozen type of cases like a run of the mill divorce.

One thing I always tell people undergoing a divorce is that it's usually cheaper and much better psychologically to do a mediation (and with a real trusted mediator who has a law degree not a court appointed flunky which in a lot of states do not even have to be an attorney). IF you're still on decent talking terms with your wife I'd strongly suggest discussing that option with her to mediate out the issues. If you can't find someone locally I can help, but local is better.

 

[JohnnieHolmesNole]

Who's the judge? Who's the opposing attorney?

You want someone who is better received by the judge than your adversary.

You are wise to be concerned about a Barry grad. There are a few good ones out there, but finding them is like finding a 4-leaf clover. Although "10 years" of experience may seem like a lot, she really does not have much real-world experience.

Divorce = nightmare, so good luck.
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