About Stan Sinberg
Articles written by Stan Sinberg
Sister Act
Barbara, Therese and Maria Lawless followed in their father’s footsteps—and stuck togetherThree sisters who practice law within a few blocks of each other in San Francisco’s Financial District have heard all the jokes about their last name. Indeed, Barbara, Therese and Maria Lawless wear it as a badge of honor. Not only did their father, William Lawless Jr., serve for eight years as a justice on the New York State Supreme Court, he instilled a sense of humor about the surname. “If you think it’s a funny name for a lawyer,” Maria remembers him saying, “you should imagine …
From Raider to Litigator
Bob Moore once caught passes from Kenny Stabler; now his wins take place in the courtroomIf he hadn’t clocked Alvin and/or Albert, Bob Moore might have wound up pitching for the New York Mets instead of catching footballs for the Raiders. Pitching at Stanford his sophomore year, Moore, who had been drafted by the Mets out of high school, was known for a wicked fastball but errant control. In a game against Santa Clara, whose second baseman and shortstop were identical twins named Alvin and Albert, Moore struck out 10, walked 11, and beaned “either Alvin and Albert, Alvin …
Unnatural Disaster Artist
John “Mickey” McGuire walks the talk after fires and earthquakesShortly after the October 2017 wildfires, which devastated an estimated 250,000 acres and killed 44 people in Napa and Sonoma counties, John “Mickey” McGuire spent three days traversing service and access roads, searching for clues to determine what caused—or spread—the infernos. Along with his experts, he looked at burn patterns on trees, fuel markings on the ground, vegetation around utility poles and charred electrical wiring. In conjunction with studying aerial photographs and …
Not So Small
An international network headed up by Charles Kagay arms boutique firms with more firepowerOver the years, Charles Kagay has battled corporate giants accused of over-flexing their muscle. As head of the International Network of Boutique and Independent Law Firms, he’s now helping small firms—like his own—maximize theirs. “The INBLF gives boutique firms the combined firepower and reach greater than that of the largest multinational law firm,” says the appellate attorney at Spiegel Liao & Kagay. The goal is to offer clients the range of services of a big firm, with the …
How Clement Kong Measures Success
The Sacramento attorney says it’s all about the people you meet along the wayClement Kong still regards one of his first cases—representing “crusty” cattle rancher George Neary against Kong’s own alma mater—as his most significant. “I measure my success by all the people I’ve met along the way and admire,” says the amiable Kong, seated in his airy ground-floor office at Korshak, Kracoff, Kong & Sugano, situated on a tranquil commercial street. “Neary was a lone individual standing up to a large corporation out of principle.” When Neary’s …
Have Holcomb, Will Travel
Mark Holcomb: the tax attorney who saved the day for ExpediaIn 2008, 17 Florida counties banded together to sue four online travel companies—Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity and Priceline—over the booking fees they charge to facilitate hotel reservations. The counties wanted to start collecting Florida’s so-called “bed tax” on these fees; the online companies said the tax should apply only to the room rate. Tax attorney Mark Holcomb, who represented the companies, was struck by something he’d never seen before in a tax case. “By and large, we …
The Clerks
From Miranda to Booker: 40 years of historic and hilarious moments clerking for the U.S. Supreme CourtThey witnessed some of the biggest cases in the last 60 years: Miranda v. Arizona, Clay v. United States, Bush v. Gore. They walked and talked (and shared burgers and did aerobics) with giants. They’re former U.S. Supreme Court clerks, and last fall Super Lawyers interviewed 11 of them, all on our Southern California list, who worked on the high court between 1965 and 2005. These are their stories. CHOOSING YOUR JUSTICE Each year, there are 36 openings for U.S. Supreme Court …
‘Just a [Supreme] Thrill’
An oral history of local lawyers who clerked in the rarefied chambers of the U.S. Supreme Court, for justices ranging from William O. Douglas to Stephen BreyerEvery year, three or four fortunate young attorneys are selected by each U.S. Supreme Court justice from among scores of applicants for the most highly coveted clerking job in the country. Here, 10 Bay Area attorneys reminisce about landing one of these exclusive gigs. Job interviews are generally intimidating, but when the interviewer is a Supreme Court justice, the experience can be surreal. Michael Rubin, Appellate, Altshuler Berzon; San Francisco (William J. Brennan Jr., …
The Grinders
The back-and-forth of John C. Taylor and David RingIn late 2001, John C. Taylor walked into a Westwood office building looking for a suitable space to open a smaller practice. When he emerged a few hours later, he’d found not only his new digs but a partner as well. Before that eventful meeting, the two men had either met several times or barely knew each other—depending on which of them you ask. “I told my wife: If I went into practice I’d want it to be with someone like David Ring,” Taylor says. David Ring: “Maybe we’d met a …
I Don’t Know What I’d Do Otherwise
An oral history of attorneys who remember wearing fedoras and watch fobs, hopping the “C” train to the office, and triumphantly negotiating a salary of $9,000. A year.When the half-dozen luminaries spotlighted here launched their careers in the 1950s and ’60s, divorce came with “fault,” criminal offenses didn’t carry “strikes,” nuptials took place without the “pre,” and attorneys were overwhelmingly white and male. There was no law requiring one side to turn over evidence to the other—a situation that encouraged what Melvin Belli dubbed “trial by ambush.” California attorneys were prohibited from advertising, so no Better Call Saul …
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