In the latest episode of Bad News, Good Lawyers, Tom Firestone, head of our Government Investigations & White Collar Practice, is joined by Kai Bird, who won the Pulitzer Prize for his biography of Robert Oppenheimer (the basis for the film Oppenheimer), and his wife and collaborator Susan Goldmark to discuss their new book, American Scoundrel, a biography of Roy Cohn, one of the most influential and controversial US lawyers of his time.
Cohn came to prominence as a young assistant US attorney who prosecuted Julius and Ethel Rosenberg for espionage and is widely believed to have convinced the judge, in improper ex parte meetings, to impose the death sentence. He later served as counsel to Sen. Joseph McCarthy during the Army-McCarthy hearings and went on to represent a number of high-profile clients in New York, including politicians, Mafia bosses, the owners of Studio 54, and President Donald Trump and his father. Cohn was criminally prosecuted several times, but never convicted. However, shortly before his death in 1986, he was disbarred for various ethical violations.
The conversation explores Cohn’s professional career, his relationships with influential figures in politics and business, and the events that shaped his public reputation.
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*The views expressed by guests on Bad News, Good Lawyers are those of the guest and do not necessarily reflect the views of Squire Patton Boggs.
Key questions addressed in this episode
How did President Trump, Jeremy Strong and the FBI help with research for this book?
How did Cohn work with a Mafia boss to arrange the appointment of the US attorney for the Southern District of New York?
Why was Cohn so successful as a lawyer despite violating so many ethical prohibitions?
Who is the one person who successfully used Cohn-like tactics against Cohn?
Was Cohn a product of a certain time and place or a “type” that recurs in various times and places?
Could someone like Cohn succeed today?
If you have any questions about our podcast, please contact Tom Firestone. And look out for future episodes in this series, where we discuss the intersection of law and politics, and how good lawyers can develop creative solutions to the toughest issues.