Donald R. Alvarez

The prior reviewer re "the patron saint of unprepared pro per litigants" is 100% true. If you actually want to move your case along, 170.6 all day every day.

Judge Alvarez, while nice, is the patron saint of in pro pers and unprepared Plaintiff's counsel. He allows cases to drag on costing your client money because he is too afraid to apply the well established law to the facts of the case. He refuses to hold Plaintiff's counsel and in pro per litigants to legal standards, allowing them to get away with discovery abuses and failures to properly assert causes of action. If you represent a party who pays by the hour, and you are a good attorney who thinks the CCP means something, file your 170.6 on this judge. Otherwise, a case that should take at most one year will last you several and your work filing motions to compel and dispositive motions will needlessly increase because he will not fairly apply the law.