Salvador "Sal" Liccardo, B.S. ’56, J.D. ’61

2008 Santa Clara Law Alumni Achievement Award Winner

*Trial Lawyer*

Sal Liccardo is one of the top trial lawyers in the U.S. Through his career, he says he has been motivated by simple things he absorbed growing up: the value of education and hard work, the importance of following through on one’s word, and a commitment to making a difference. He is a leader not only in the legal community but also now, in the international arena, where he is using his competence and credibility to help create a legal system on the other side of the world.

Liccardo was born in 1935 in the Mission District of San Francisco, where his father worked as a longshoreman. His mother was from a family of 13 that worked in the canneries. When Sal was five, the family moved to San Jose where they ran Notre Dame Market.

Though his father had only an eighth grade and his mother a sixth grade education, they valued education and sent him to Bellarmine College Preparatory. He went on to earn a degree in political science from SCU in 1956.

After graduation, Liccardo went on active duty with the U.S. Army Signal Corps. Stationed in the Philippines, he experienced the world’s first spacecraft launched by Russia, and a standoff, with the threat of nuclear bombing, between the U.S. and China.

When he returned to the States, Liccardo enrolled in Santa Clara University School of Law. There he met his wife, Laura Aceves; they married during his second year of law school.

Liccardo says he discovered his love for the law the day he began practicing. In 1963, he co-founded Caputo and Liccardo, later Liccardo, Rossi, Sturges & McNeil, in San Jose.

Liccardo has been named one of the top 100 lawyers in Northern California (Northern California Super Lawyers, 2005-08); one of Silicon Valley’s top lawyers (San Jose Magazine, 2005-07); one of "The Best Lawyers In America" (2007); and one of the 500 Leading Plaintiff Lawyers in America (2007, Lawdragon). Since 1974, he has been a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates. In 1994 the Santa Clara Trial Lawyers Association named him Trial Lawyer of the Year. He is a current board member of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and past president of Trial Lawyers for Public Justice.

In the 1990’s, Liccardo became involved in helping build a legal system in China fifty years after Mao wiped out China’s legal system. He considers this to be some of his most rewarding work.

Liccardo continues to try cases and stays busy as ever. He enjoys skiing, sailing, and playing golf, often with Laura, his five children, and his three grandchildren.