Peninsula attorney takes on Cheney

InsideBayArea ^ | 8-17-06 | Tim Simmers

[STARWISE]

Peninsula attorney and powerful Democratic Party fundraiser Joe Cotchett has been named to lead the trial counsel for ex-CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson's lawsuit against Vice President Dick Cheney and other Bush administration officials.

The Burlingame lawyer, considered one of the top trial lawyers in the country, will ask a federal court to order Cheney, his ex-chief of staff Lewis "Scooter" Libby and presidential adviser Karl Rove to testify regarding their role in disclosing Plame's classified CIA status.

"This case is all about the truth," said Cotchett, senior partner in the law firm Cotchett, Pitre, Simon & McCarthy in Burlingame. "If Cheney, Libby and Rove would have told the truth three years ago — if they had leveled with the American public — we would not have to be here today."

Cotchett has won a number of high-profile cases, including a $1.75 billion jury verdict against Charles Keating in the Lincoln Savings & Loan scandal,...

(snip)

He's known for representing bilked investors in white-collar fraud cases.

politically charged case has at its core the legitimacy of the Iraq war and was brought by outed CIA operative Plame and her husband, Joseph Wilson, a former U.S. ambassador in Iraq. Wilson has been a strong critic of the Iraq war. He raised the question that the Bush administration may have manipulated intelligence about Saddam Hussein's weapons program to justify an invasion of Iraq. Wilson and critics of the Bush administration say it retaliated by publicly identifying Plame as a CIA agent.

Administration officials deny the allegation and Rove has called the lawsuit "absolutely and utterly without merit."

(snip)

Cotchett will team up on the case with his partner at the firm Frank Pitre. Cotchett took over the case Tuesday.

[STARWISE]

Cotchett, Pitre, Simon & McCarthy

3. Joseph Cotchett: Trial Lawyer

"So, there was his mom, an actress who used to be a Ziegfield showgirl, on stage, in a nun's habit - and pregnant.

Naturally, no sooner was the matinee performance over when guess who decides to make his world debut? None other than Joe Cotchett, of course. Perhaps he heard the applause. Maybe it was the nun's habit. Who knows? But it would be only the first of countless times that Cotchett would steal the show.

At 63, the Burlingame attorney has had a star career that's not only talked about in legal circles but has made headlines around the country. Known mostly as a plaintiffs lawyer, many of his cases are filed on behalf of fraud victims, and have a widows-and-orphan flavor to them.

His most famous case was the $3.3 billion jury verdict (later reduced to $1. 75 billion) he won in 1992 in the Lincoln Savings & Loan debacle. But just months ago there was another huge victory, the $1.7 billion settlement he got as lead counsel against El Paso Corp. for manipulating natural gas prices during the California energy crisis. And now he's taking on Wall Street, for defrauding investors by pushing Enron, Worldcom and other worthless stocks.

A bear of a man who stands 6 feet 4 inches, Cotchett is one of those larger- than-life trial lawyers - and men - the kind they don't make anymore. He fills the room wherever he goes. He says what's on his mind. And very often, he will guess what's on yours. You either love him or hate him - instantly. But there's no ignoring him.

When he's not trying cases, Cotchett tends to his other job, that of power player. He's close pals with many of the state's leading Democrats, and the wheeler-dealer schmoozer in him loves his role as their adviser. Rumor has it that Cotchett may even try his own hand at politics, and make the next run for the state attorney general's job.

The show's not over yet, folks."

[STARWISE]

Ding ding ding

[golfisnr1]

Plame and Wilson's lawyer wouldn't touch this suit. So they shopped around and found this hustler.

[cardinal4]

Who is paying the fee?

[STARWISE]

"Joe Cotchett, a top Democratic fundraiser, trial lawyer and longtime wine and restaurant partner of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, has just been named to lead ex-CIA officer Valerie Plame Wilson's big lawsuit against Vice President Dick Cheney, his former chief of staff Lewis "Scooter" Libby and presidential adviser Karl Rove.

And with the ex-Army Special Forces Col. Cotchett's take-no-prisoners approach to lawyering, you can bet this case will be a doozy."

Continued at link.

[RexBeach]

Done on contingency?

I cannot believe that this non-story is now going into a courtroom.

Why doesn't Cheney counter sue?

[liberty_lvr]

But there's no ignoring him.

Baloney. I couldn't care less if this hustler lives, dies, or grows mushrooms from his crack. I suspect Mr. "Larger-than-life" will meet his match with the likes of Dick Cheney.

Now there's a real power broker, not this Dim wanna-be.

[peyton randolph]

Member: San Mateo County (Member, Board of Directors, 1970-1972) and American (Member, Antitrust Section; Vice-Chair, Committee on Commercial Torts, Section of Tort and Insurance Practice, 1989-1990) Bar Associations; The State Bar of California (Member, Board of Governors, 1972-1975; Vice President, 1974-1975); San Francisco Lawyers Club; San Mateo County Trial Lawyers Association (President, 1969); California Trial Lawyers Association (Member, Board of Governors, 1969-1972; Vice President, 1972); Consumer Attorneys of California; (Presidential Award of Merit, 2000); Association of Business Trial Lawyers; The Association of Trial Lawyers of America (Secretary, Commercial Tort Litigation Section, 1971; Chairman: Consumer Protection Committee, 1971; Chairman, Federal Courts Committee, 1978-1982; Member, Board of Governors, 1983-1986); Trial Lawyers for Public Justice (President, 1986-1987; Member, Board of Governors, 1982—); American Board of Trial Advocates (Advocate, 1981—; National Board of Directors, 1999); California State Park and Recreation Commission, appointed by Governor Gray Davis (2000; Chair, 2001-2002); Roscoe Pound-American Trial Lawyers Foundation (1999). - Source: lawyers.com

[garyhope]

"This case is all about the truth,"

ROFLMAO!

The Dimmer than Dims wouldn't know the truth if it came up and bit them on their you know whats.

The Dims and Dimerers, they "can't handle the truth".

[JoeGar]

He [Cochett] is known for representing bilked investors in white-collar fraud cases.

He's probably represented me! Every week I get "securities litigation" mail from some lawyer wanting me to join a lawsuit against some company that has done me no wrong. I toss the junk mail away -- and the lawyer still gets paid for me! That's our legal system!

[RayChuang88]

Who is paying the fee?

Wanna bet some very rich Democratic donors are paying the fees for this lawyer? Makes you wonder is this lawyer, Texas Attorney General Ronnie Earle, Durham city District Attorney Mike Nifong and the attorneys that went after Rush Limbaugh have been paid off with huge amounts of under-table money from accounts controlled by one George Soros....

[Bernard Marx]

More San Francisco Bay Area political theater. And whadd'ya know...it's just in time for the 2008 elections. Who'd have thunk?

[Lancey Howard]

Peninsula attorney and powerful Democratic Party fundraiser Joe Cotchett....

Pro bono, no doubt. Libby's folks should have a good laugh spanking this scumbag Cotchett.

[kevkrom]

He's known for representing bilked investors in white-collar fraud cases.

I wouldn't be surprised if he were better known for bilking represented investors.

[Lx]

Strike a pose!

I think some barber shop is missing its pole.

[STARWISE]

Ping!

[Peach]

Cheney will make short work of him.