Barbara McQuade
Role at the time: Former U.S. attorney and MS NOW legal analyst, in an opinion column
Condemned
Statement summary
McQuade wrote that Zacharia's use of the title general counsel at Fix California would seem to amount to holding herself out as entitled to practice law, which without a license would violate California law.
“Using the title “general counsel” would seem to be “holding oneself out as entitled to practice law.” And without a license, that use would put Zacharia in violation of California law.”
Open source (opens in a new tab)MS NOW opinion: The rise and fall of TV 'lawyer' Katie Zacharia · MS NOWFull article
Why we used this label
The matter under scrutiny is how Zacharia described her legal qualifications and whether that broke California law. McQuade says the television label likely did not break the statute but the general counsel title likely did, and calls the overstatement disqualifying. Her overall assessment criticizes Zacharia's descriptions.