A Lawyer's Life - Hardcover

Cochran, Johnnie; Fisher, David

4.28

170 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0786243724 ISBN 13: 9780786243723

Publisher: G K Hall & Co, 2003

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The lawyer best known for his part in leading O.J. Simpson's defense team traces his career, efforts to promote change, participation in several high-profile cases, and work for race relations.

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Review:

Johnnie Cochran had been famed as a folksy oratory in Los Angeles courtrooms since the 1960s, but the 1995 O.J. Simpson trial catapulted him to international fame--a status he gladly acknowledges in this bare-knuckles memoir of his years in court.

Cochran doesn't spend much time revisiting the Simpson case (except to proclaim O.J. innocent). Cochran devotes most of his account to less-celebrated cases that address repeated themes--police negligence and outright perjury; the difficulties minorities face in securing impartial justice; the inherent unfairness of racial profiling. Cochran describes his methods, and explains the reason for his rhyming summations ("If the glove doesn't fit, you must acquit"): "Juries enjoyed them, understood them, and, more importantly, remembered them."

Readers may not be won over by Cochran, but his book will be widely enjoyed and remembered. --Gregory McNamee

About the Author:

Johnnie Cochran was born in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1937. In 1963, he began his legal career in Los Angeles as a Deputy City Attorney for the city's criminal division. In addition to O.J. Simpson, Cochran's high profile clients have included Michael Jackson, Reginald Denny, Geronimo Pratt, Todd Bridges, and James Brown. His autobiography, Journey to Justice, was a national bestseller.

David Fisher is the author of more than a dozen bestselling books, among them Gracie with George Burns, What's What, the first visual reference book, and the novel The War Magician. He has written extensively for national magazines and newspapers.

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