Jim Rogers (politician)

Jim Rogers (born September 10, 1955), popularly known as The People's Lawyer, was a city councilmember for the city of Richmond, California. He was first elected in 2002, and his final term expired in January 2015. He is a Democrat. From 1994 to 1998 he was a member of the board of supervisors of Contra Costa County, California.[1]

History

Origins

Rogers is native of Ohio.[2] He is a graduate of University of California, Berkeley and University of California, Davis School of Law (King Hall).

Rogers has been a lawyer since 1980.[3] He was well known throughout the San Francisco Bay Area as "the People's Lawyer," thanks to radio and television commercials which he started in the early 1980s[4] and ran throughout the 1990s.

Rogers was reported to have a large number of unhappy customers, being sued by more than a dozen people citing malpractice, fraud or negligence. Rogers has defended himself by saying "If you have ten times as many cases as somebody, you have ten times as many unhappy people... It's often overlooked that you also have ten times as many happy people".[4] An article in the New York University Law Review described Rogers' firm as a busy place at the height of its business, with around 1500 open cases at any time. The article cited Rogers' practice as a typical example of a "settlement mill," where turnover of work was swift with noticeably little 'lawyering'.[5]

Rogers resigned from the State Bar of California in 2006 with charges pending and is no longer eligible to practice law.[6] He changed careers, becoming an advocate for green building practices. Rogers is currently working on funding for various sustainability projects in Richmond. When he is not working, Rogers can be often be found practicing his jump shots at the UC Berkeley RSF.

References

  1. ↑ Supervisors to Choose New Chairman of Board, San Francisco Chronicle, January 1, 1999
  2. ↑ Jim Rogers vies for a third term Richmond Confidential, October 26, 2010
  3. ↑ Erin Hallissy `People's Lawyer' Accused / State Bar says he charges too much, San Francisco Chronicle, January 11, 1997. Retrieved 2011-12-02.
  4. 1 2 Will Harper Settling for Less , East Bay Express, January 8, 2003. Retrieved 2011-12-02.
  5. ↑ Norah Freeman Engstrom The California law firm of Jim Rogers, New York University Law Review, Vol. 86 No. 4, October 2011, pp. 21-23. Retrieved 2011-12-02.
  6. ↑ Attorney page at State Bar of California
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