"Reasons
Why It's Good That Lawyers Have Power" by Katrina
Dewey
A
few months back, the Johnnie question came up at an
Algonquin gathering of high-powered lawyers on Sunset
Boulevard.
The heated discussion
that ensued came to mind on a
beautiful autumn afternoon that was perfect for watching
football and contemplating lawyers. Specifically, the
100 included in this year's list of the most powerful
lawyers in California, the 150 more who deserved serious
consideration, the approximately 1,000 nominated and
the 21 who have made the list in each of its five years.
People say a lot of bad
things about lawyers, and many
of them are deserved. But what we all too often fail
to pause and appreciate is the civility our country
enjoys because of our system to resolve disputes. We
are a society that reflects every face, language, religion
and philosophy under the sun. Yet those differences
do not ultimately divide us.
There are many, many reasons
for that, including our
form of government, our standard of living and our
social
mobility. Some of the credit should also go to lawyers.
The lawyers on this year's
Top 100 can be irascible
jerks intent on turning the other side into mulch.
They
also are gentle and generous human beings who give
more
freely of their time and resources than almost any
other
group of individuals you could find.
Among them are lawyers
who have brokered international
peace accords, justices who have more widely opened
the doors of our courts and advocates who have passionately
persuaded on behalf of their clients.
That's been a hallmark
of our Top 100 for the five years
of its existence: The lawyers who make it each year
are the face of the law in our society. And while it's
easy to see the blemishes, overall it's a face of dignity,
compassion and commitment.
Our survey is not a scientific one any more than beauty
is an objective measure. Still, we call hundreds of
lawyers and take thousands of votes to derive the list
of those counsel considered most "powerful" by
their California peers.
The face of power in California
law changes little from
year to year. There are 21 titans who have made the
list each year, who are denoted in the following pages
in the larger, shaded boxes. Of the remaining 79 lawyers
on this year's list, 36 are first-timers.
This year's rookies reflect
the cases most on the minds
of lawyers these days: the Catholic Church, corporate
fraud, post-9/11 and the death penalty.
The breadth of lawyers
nominated this year, as in the
past, remains simply staggering - as does the source
of their power.
Some have the power of
ideas, like Erwin Chemerinsky
and Laurence Lessig; the power of global business,
like
John Schulman, Ann Baskins and Robert Dell; the power
to persuade of Tom Girardi, Ron Olson and Joe Cotchett;
the power of compassion that fuels David Lash, Dan
Grunfeld,
Mark Rosenbaum and Eva Paterson; and the power of vision
that has been the hallmark of Ron George, Larry Sonsini
and Warren Christopher.
There are two important
footnotes to this year's list.
One member passed away a few weeks back. But he was
with us, Ira Yellin used his legal skills to change
the landscape of downtown Los Angeles.
This was also the first
year we had a member of the
Top 100 ask to not be included in order to protect
his
privacy. We won't tell you who he is so as not to further
highlight this remarkable but complex man. We felt
we
had a duty to include him for two reasons: he was selected
by his peers and his contributions reflect the finest
tradition of lawyering.
Which
brings us back to Johnnie. Mr. Cochran is on hiatus
from this year's list, falling off the radar of his
California colleagues after a year spent on the national
scene representing Enron workers and preparing a huge
slave reparations lawsuit.
At
the Algonquin dinner, public relations maven Michael
Levine played the role of Dorothy Parker, inquiring
with an upturned brow whether Cochran had done a great
disservice to lawyers with his successful defense of
O.J. - isn't that why lawyers have such a bad reputation?
Each
of you probably has your own answer to that question.
But what's inescapable
as you read the tales of the
Top 100 is the face of justice that emerges beyond
any
specific battle, and any particular side. These are
the individuals who make sure the scoundrels who are
caught are prosecuted fairly; that corporations, their
employees and shareholders retain the most solid economic
and ethical base; that the weak are not further marginalized
by being deprived of justice in addition to means;
and
that our courts remain the repository of our belief
in a better way to resolve our disputes.
If it's true that, as
we age, we get the face we deserve,
this year's fifth anniversary Top 100 should give lawyers
a reason to smile. |