Order of the Coif Luncheon

By, John M. Goralka
Sacramento, CA

I attended the annual Order of the Coif lunch at McGeorge. Few of my teachers were in attendance. Christine Manolakas, one of my tax teachers in both the J.D program and in the LLM program at McGeorge, was there. Returning to the law school was a little like traveling back in time, triggering many great memories of my classmates.

The Order of the Coif that was founded in 1902, is a prestigious National honor for society for law school graduates in the United States. Only top law schools can have their top graduates admitted. There are well over 200 law schools in the United States. Of these 181 schools approved by the American Bar Association. 162 of those schools are members of the American Association of Law Schools. Of those, 76 schools have chapters of the order of Coif.

The purpose of the Order is to encourage excellence in legal education. Students in the top 10% of their law school class may be considered if their law school has a recognized order of the Coif chapter. The term “Coif” refers to the white cap made of white silk that members were to wear.

Law school was a great experience for me because I knew from the first day that this is what I was meant to do. I was 2^nd in my class at the end of my first year. In my second year, my dad became very ill from a variety of complications related to adult onset (Type 2) diabetes. He was hospitalized for many weeks, and we were not sure he would survive. I missed several classes visiting him. Thankfully, he survived. When I graduated, my rank improved to 4^th in my class.

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Sacramento Estate Planning, Tax Planning and Business Attorney.

I’m John Goralka, a Sacramento Estate Planning, Tax Planning and Business Attorney at the Goralka Law Firm, P.C. If you have an estate, tax or business situation needing legal help, contact our team for experienced and friendly advice. You can contact us at 916-440-8036. Alternatively, you can use our convenient online contact form here on our website. We listen, and you can have your questions answered, your case evaluated, and explore your options for getting the legal help you need.

There are almost 200,000 attorneys in the state of California, and fewer than 100 of those attorneys are State Bar Specialists in Estate Planning, Trusts and Probate and State Bar Specialists in Taxation. I am one of the few attorneys with both critical specializations. I passed the California CPA examination and am a former income tax auditor and hearing officer. I am also recognized as a top attorney in the United States by US News and World Reports and by Best Lawyers and hold an AV rating from Martindale which is the premiere rating organization for attorneys. The AV rating is the highest possible rating for legal experience and for legal ethics.

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