Michael Cohen, testifying before Congress.
February’s Michael Cohen hearings represented a troubling moment for the legal profession. Mr. Cohen, disbarred as a result of his felony conviction, presented the vision of a lawyer completely unhinged from all of his ethical and legal obligations. On the eve of those hearings, Congressman Gaetz, an attorney in Florida, tweeted what appeared to be threats directed at Mr. Cohen, suggesting that his wife and father-in-law were about to learn about his alleged infidelities. Those comments were investigated by the Florida Bar. Both individuals, through their actions, contributed to a negative public perception of the profession.
Much has been written, and much more will be written, about Mr. Cohen’s actions and testimony, all of which should present an appropriate cautionary tale to lawyers. What is more concerning, however, is the damage Mr. Cohen’s conduct has likely done to the public perception of lawyers. To be fair, Mr. Cohen is not the only lawyer who has cast the profession in a negative light in recent years. But we cannot ignore that the most discussed lawyer in America right now is not someone in the vein of Barbara Jordan, Clarence Darrow, Thurgood Marshall, or the fictional Atticus Finch, but a convicted felon attesting to over ten years of unscrupulous, unethical and illegal behavior.
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