Celebrity attorney Johnnie Cochran has been working hard to expand his Los Angeles-based law firm into a nationwide presence (“America’s Law Firm”, proclaims a banner on its website), and it now claims offices in ten states. Last month, amid considerable fanfare, the Cochran firm announced that it plans to merge with the Las Vegas personal injury law firm of Mainor Eglet Cottle, which we have had occasion to mention on this site in its previous incarnation as Mainor Harris (see “Crumbs from the Table”, Feb. 8-10, 2002) (Alana Roberts, “Celebrity lawyer Cochran in deal with LV law firm”, Las Vegas Sun, Mar. 2; Xazmin Garza, “Law firm set to go national”, Las Vegas Business Press, Mar. 5). It happens that the case involving Mainor Harris that we discussed two years ago, regarding charges of malfeasance in dividing a settlement on behalf of a catastrophically injured client, is still pending on appeal, and makes quite a colorful story (Ed Vogel, “Lawyer accuses two others of lying to judge”, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Feb. 10). As for the Cochran firm, its national footprint may be somewhat less impressive than you’d assume from its big Yellow Pages spreads, or at least so we gather from Evan Schaeffer’s account last month (Mar. 2) of what happened when he decided to pay an unannounced visit to the firm’s listed St. Louis offices: “The security guard had never heard of the Cochran Law Firm.”

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