A Lawyer's Life Worth Knowing
By Pat Yevics, Director
Law Office Management Assistance, MSBA

NOTE: The 5th Annual Solo Day at the MSBA Annual Meeting will be held on Friday, June 13, 2003, in Ocean City. Solo Day is sponsored by the MSBA Solo and Small Firm Practice Section. This year’s keynote speaker will be Johnnie Cochran. He will speak from 12:45 PM until 3:00 PM. He will also autograph copies of his book, A Lawyer’s Life, which will be available for sale. This month’s column is a review of the book.

First, my usual disclaimers: I rarely read memoirs of celebrities, and Johnnie Cochran is clearly a celebrity. I would not have read the book, A Lawyer’s Life, if Johnnie Cochran were not going to be attending the Annual Meeting. Although I know of Johnnie Cochran from the OJ Trial, I cannot say that I have strong opinions about him. 

Having said all that, I can honestly say that I found the book interesting and fascinating to read. It was worth the time to get to know what drives Johnnie Cochran. Being a memoir, this is obviously a one-sided version of some very high profile cases and some less well-known cases. But it is also a guide on how to handle clients, pick juries, treat staff, make decisions and try cases. Despite the fact that Johnnie Cochran is now a very famous and wealthy lawyer, 40 years ago, he started as a solo practitioner, taking any client that came in the door while wondering how to pay the bills. His road to where he is today is worth knowing.

No matter what opinion you may have about Johnnie Cochran when you start to read the book, by the time you are finished reading it, you should at least respect the fact that he loves being a lawyer and is driven to use the law to make positive changes. He is passionate about what he does and the clients he defends. Unlike most lawyers, Johnnie Cochran can be very particular about the work he chooses.

He has very strong opinions about the criminal justice system in this country, especially as it affects African-Americans. His opinions may make some people uncomfortable, but they are worth hearing because he has been on both sides of the table.

Although he started in private practice in Los Angeles in 1963, he was the first African-American law clerk in the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office. He spent many years prosecuting the same people he now so vigorously defends.  He has made a career suing police departments against abuse because he believes that the system does not treat blacks and whites equally. He believes that the system’s inequality stems more from economics than race. He has seen how the system works. He was a part of that system, and he wanted desperately to change it.

As a result of his cases against the LA Police Department, the police outlawed using choke holds to subdue suspects while in police custody. Up until then, 19 men had died as a result of chokeholds. Since then, not one person has consequently died.

Again, this is one-sided, but his stories are compelling and often infuriating. There were times when I became quite angry about some of the unfairness of the system. Even if his characterizations of some of his clients were no more accurate than the prosecutor’s, some of the stories were very disturbing. Even when he detailed his reasons for assisting with the case of Latrell Spreewell – a person I thought was not disciplined harshly enough – I found myself respecting his thought process even when I did not agree with it.

I was happy that there was very little discussion about the OJ trial. He refers to some of the decisions he made and how it affected his life, but the most compelling stories were of other trials and cases he handled. According to Cochran, the case that changed his life was the case of Leonard Deadwyler. He was a young African-American who was shot and killed by a police officer as he was driving his pregnant wife to the hospital. According to Johnnie Cochran, there was no reason this young man should have been shot, but what changed his life was that no one was held accountable for it. He saw how the police departments in LA and later in New York protected their own even when what was done was wrong. He has spent his life trying to stop what he sees as injustice. Whether or not you agree with him or not, it is hard not to be impressed with his commitment to what he believes.

Who would find this book worth reading? I certainly believe that all trial lawyers would find his descriptions of picking juries extremely helpful. Criminal lawyers will find some of his stories extremely compelling and perhaps not that unbelievable. Since Johnnie Cochran has received the largest verdict or settlements in PI cases in 4 states, all PI lawyers will find this an interesting read.

This is an excellent book for new practitioners. Throughout the book, Cochran explains how he handles clients’ complaints, how he charges fees (always get your money up front in criminal cases), how to pick juries and how to prepare, prepare and prepare. It is also a book for experienced practitioners who may be feeling a little burned out and overwhelmed. Cochran is driven because he believes in what he does. He believes that lawyers can improve society, and that is what he wants to do. He calls himself a “legal agitator, an irritant, a pain to the establishment.” At a time when he could easily retire, he continues to want to practice law.

There are many compelling cases discussed in detail. I found the story of Abner Louima, the Haitian immigrant who was sodomized while in police custody, to be the most disturbing. He also goes into great detail about the gun possession charge against Sean “Puffy” Combs and the shooting of Amadou Diallo, who was unarmed and shot 41 times by four New York Police officers.

If you love the law and admire lawyers who believe in what they do and work hard, then you should read this book. It will be time worth spent and a lawyer’s life worth knowing.

You may purchase the book in three different ways. The cost for the book prior to the Annual Meeting will be $18, which is 30 percent off the retail price. The cost at the Annual Meeting will be $20 (20 percent off the retail price). All information is at the MSBA website at www.msba.org. There is an order form available.

1.  If you wish to read the book prior to the Annual Meeting, you may order the book and have it mailed to you. The cost for the book is $18 plus 5 percent Maryland sales tax and $3 for shipping and handling. The total cost is $21.90 per book.

2.  If you wish to take advantage of the discount but save the shipping cost, you may purchase the book in advance and pick it up at Solo Day, June 13, 2003. The total cost will be $18.90. Please note that all books must be paid for in advance by Monday, June 2, 2003. No exceptions. This will guarantee that we will have enough books.

Please send order form from website with check or charge to MSBA-LOMA, 520 West Fayette Street, Baltimore, MD 21201. Please make checks payable to MSBA. All orders must be received by Monday, June 2.

3.  You may purchase the book at the Annual Meeting for $20 plus 5 percent Maryland sales tax for a total of $21. We will accept cash, check or charges. There will be no guarantee there will be enough books available at the Annual Meeting.

Johnnie Cochran will be autographing the book prior to his presentation from noon- 12:45 p.m., and again following his presentation.

If you have any questions, please contact Pat Yevics at pyevics@msba.org or (800) 492-1964, ext 243.

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Publications : Bar Bulletin: May, 2003