A tribute to Larry H. Parker (1948-2024)

There’s no specific point in time when it clicked for Ron Beck that Larry H. Parker was a Southern California celebrity. But a few key memories stand out.

At a Dodgers game Beck attended in the mid-1990s, Roger Owens, the famous Dodger Stadium peanut man, launched a bag of peanuts towards a hungry fan in trademark fashion. On its way to its intended target, the peanut bag walloped another unsuspecting fan on the side of the head. “Call Larry H. Parker!”, someone yelled. “He got that other guy $2.1 million!”

On another occasion at an Orange County diner, Beck and Parker walked through the restaurant to grab a booth in the back. On the way, nearly all of the restaurant patrons stuck out their hands to high-five Parker. This was before the advent of cell phone cameras, so no selfies were taken. An unsuspecting onlooker might have thought that the enthusiastic reaction signaled a celebrity sighting instead of two lawyers having lunch.

Parker did not relish the spotlight, despite his ubiquitous presence on Southern California airwaves and billboards. He was shy by nature. He eschewed most interview requests and turned down frequent media invitations to commentate on legal industry news. Education was his thing. He gave back to the community by offering a $20,000 scholarship every year to students from disadvantaged homes who applied to go to college. The coveted award led to an overwhelming amount of applications. Parker read every single one. He donated an entire apartment building—over 400 apartments—to the City of Long Beach to be used for college student housing.

How many lawyers do you know who have fans? Larry H. Parker did. He found it amusing when people recognized him in public. Snoop Dogg rapped about him, and Saturday Night Live’s Green & Fazio lawyer parody is said to be based on Parker’s television ads. Nearly every major news outlet offered tributes to Parker, who died earlier this month. Parker was always gracious and acknowledged his supporters with humility. He devoted himself to doing what he did best: helping real people who got hurt.

That’s how Ron Beck first met Parker. In 1977, the California Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling on lawyer advertising in Jacoby v. State Bar, 19 Cal.3d. 359. The case followed a growing trend in other states that had begun relaxing some of the rigid rules governing lawyer advertising. Spotting an opportunity, Parker began running television commercials advertising his firm, the Law Offices of Larry H. Parker. By the early 1980s, Parker had generated so much business, he called on another firm, Perona Langer, to help him out. Ron Beck was just out of law school and working at Perona Langer when Parker handed him 300 files. It was the beginning of a 40-plus year friendship. Beck, along with partners Jim Perona and Major Langer, purchased a substantial stake in the Law Offices of Larry H. Parker in 1996. The firm employs 125 employees and will continue as a going concern. In other words, those billboards aren’t going anywhere.

Parker’s success didn’t only catch the attention of would-be clients. During the late 1990s, the California Legislature revised the Business & Professions Code dealing with lawyers advertising dollar figures they recovered on behalf of their clients. A consortium of competing law firms convinced the Legislature to change the rules. They claimed it was because too many consumers saw Parker’s television advertisements and expected that their case would yield similar results. Parker lobbied against these changes. He argued that they were a veiled attempt brought by competitors whose real intentions were to try and grab some of his office’s market share. Sacramento eventually passed these changes, and attorney advertising now must comply with Sections 6157 through 6159.

This did not stop Larry H. Parker. He continued advertising and ended every commercial with his iconic scowl, pointing his finger at the camera with the assurance “I’ll fight for you!” As a young child, two things were guaranteed to be on television on the days I stayed home from school: The Price is Right, and Larry H. Parker. Anyone who grew up in Southern California at any time over the past 40 years will agree. There are many lawyers advertising their services every day. There was only one Larry H. Parker. Farewell to this Southern California legal titan.