Rachel Juarez, one of the judges on the syndicated court show Hot Bench, joins me to trace her path from Quinn Emanuel to a solo family law practice to national television, and to explain what it actually takes to run an unscripted courtroom show, including the AI-fueled lawsuits she’s starting to see on set.
Key Takeaways:
* Rachel Juarez loved Biglaw. She left Quinn Emanuel not because of the culture but for a lifestyle change after having her first child, and says she’d go back if she ever returned to that kind of practice.
* Family law was one of the few practice areas where Juarez could realistically source her own clients as a new solo attorney, since her Biglaw litigation clients weren’t hers to take with her.
* Running even a small firm meant learning an entirely new skill set overnight: billing software, malpractice insurance, IT, and bar compliance, none of which law school teaches.
* Juarez got her Hot Bench audition through a client’s connection while she was four to five weeks postpartum, and had six days to accept the job once it was offered.
* The judge’s role is more nuanced than an advocate’s: Juarez describes learning to stop “winning” admissions and instead check whether a litigant understood what they’d just conceded.
* Litigants are increasingly showing up with AI-generated legal theories, including one who sued because ChatGPT told her, after a leading question, that she was being scammed.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Bluesky @Kathryn1
The post From Biglaw To TV Judge appeared first on Above the Law.
Rachel Juarez, one of the judges on the syndicated court show Hot Bench, joins me to trace her path from Quinn Emanuel to a solo family law practice to national television, and to explain what it actually takes to run an unscripted courtroom show, including the AI-fueled lawsuits she’s starting to see on set.
Key Takeaways:
* Rachel Juarez loved Biglaw. She left Quinn Emanuel not because of the culture but for a lifestyle change after having her first child, and says she’d go back if she ever returned to that kind of practice.
* Family law was one of the few practice areas where Juarez could realistically source her own clients as a new solo attorney, since her Biglaw litigation clients weren’t hers to take with her.
* Running even a small firm meant learning an entirely new skill set overnight: billing software, malpractice insurance, IT, and bar compliance, none of which law school teaches.
* Juarez got her Hot Bench audition through a client’s connection while she was four to five weeks postpartum, and had six days to accept the job once it was offered.
* The judge’s role is more nuanced than an advocate’s: Juarez describes learning to stop “winning” admissions and instead check whether a litigant understood what they’d just conceded.
* Litigants are increasingly showing up with AI-generated legal theories, including one who sued because ChatGPT told her, after a leading question, that she was being scammed.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Bluesky @Kathryn1
