I'd rather entrust the government of the United States to the first 400 people listed in the Boston telephone directory than to the faculty of Harvard University. (William F. Buckley, Jr.)We at ROBERTS|JUSTICE follow a number of Twitter accounts from law schools, law professors, universities and legal personalities. Just before Christmas, we saw this tweet come through our stream. The attached link brought us to a compilation of clips entitled Harvard Stories prepared by alums and students who spoke about their experiences during and after their attendance at the prestigious university. Here’s what the tweet said:
What’s it like to be part of the @Harvard community? Students, alum, faculty & staff at stories.harvard.eduTo me it was an interesting invitation not for the reasons they had intended, but because I have once been opposed by a Harvard-trained attorney (Thomas Lucero) in a case entitled Lacambra v. First Team Realty. I felt then as I do now that if I had a fraction of the resources available to his firm (Manning & Kass), I would have defeated him in court - resoundingly. I filed a case against his client right before I became homeless. Immediately thereafter, I was served with a number of documents and requests that I wasn’t able to respond to. For instance, I was not able to attend a deposition at the firm’s Los Angeles office because, literally, I hadn’t the means to get there - 60 odd miles away. Throughout the case there were no substantive issues decided, only victories by technicality and default. In fact, all he did was throw resources at the case - he papered the indigent litigator.
So, given their very illuminating clips, one must ask - Is that what Harvard Law really produces? If not, then we must know and they must accept my wager.
Harvard University has a reputation for producing some of the best and brightest minds in this country. Often times that reputation is not an accurate appraisal when one considers they usually solve problems only because they are surrounded with the best - people, tools and resources. Not everyone can confront problems in such a manner, with considerable resources that graduates from Harvard are able to marshal. Clearly, not everyone can go to Harvard simply because not everyone can - financial reasons being one of them. And the school, with it’s considerable resources have the incentive to make sure members of their alumni succeed, at the dear cost to those opposed to one of their own. So, I make them this wager. And I will use a saying in the world of motor sports about the racing life to frame my point.
There is an appreciable difference between a race car driver and a racer. A race car driver wins only when they have good equipment. A racer, on the other hand, will win even when their equipment is bad.Hence, I would like to put the Harvard Law training to the test. I would bet that if I had a little more resources, I could beat one of their own. My needs are not much and I will continue sleeping under the stars. I simply I need what is required to refile and try my cases. Here’s my list:
- A multi-function printer
- A digital camera
- A supply of legal supplies - paper, trial binders, folders, etc
- A used van, primarily for storage
- A presentable set of clothing for the courts
I hear Harvard University prides itself in the best educational programs and research labs anywhere in the world. How would you like to learn from a homeless litigator? I could teach you things, you may not have known was possible. Besides, we want to know - Is Harvard the best, or simply the oldest?
A SHORT CLIP ABOUT A HARVARD BUM
VIEW HARVARD’S ALUM VIDEOS
VIEW THOMAS LUCERO’S SITE
VIEW MANNING & KASS’ SITE
VIEW IMAGE OF HARVARD LAW’S TWEET
