Michael Cohen, center, exits federal court in Manhattan in May. Photo: Peter Foley/BloombergThe Precarious Role of Defense Lawyers in White-Collar Crime
I've been in the outhouse and the penthouse with clients when it comes to proffering or testifying or meeting – clients who have lied to federal agents.
December 17, 2018 at 11:36 AM
2 minute read
I read Michael Cohen's Guilty Plea Puts Spotlight on Defense Lawyers' Role by Christine Simmons in the New York Law Journal on Dec. 11. What a timely, yet unsettling piece it was. As a white-collar criminal defense lawyer, I've been in the outhouse and the penthouse with clients when it comes to proffering or testifying or meeting – clients who have lied to federal agents. And I've had clients who've told the truth but have been perceived by the government to be lying. In any event, it's been on my watch. Where does the fault lie? Where was the disconnect? Do clients really lie to their own lawyers? Does the lawyer really want to know the entire truth?
It's one of the more rocky roads we as criminal defense attorneys have to navigate with our clients. Because once the client sticks a toe in that pool, the client is in that water regardless of the temperature, the current and the depth.
Yours is always really great work!
Randy Zelin is a trial attorney with almost thirty years of experience representing individual and corporate clients.
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