He is called the Last Hope: meet Joseph Cotchett

Meet the Godfather of Silcon Valley...

Area lawyer preps for Plame case

At his office last week, Cotchett picked up a 5-inch-thick binder that he had just received from the defendants in the case. It contained motions to dismiss the lawsuit based on executive privilege.
"It's going to be the case of the next year," Cotchett said. "It's going to be the case that everybody watches, because it involves fundamental constitutional issues. It goes right to the heart of our national security."

Cotchett said the public may never learn how much damage was done to U.S. intelligence operations by the revelation of Plame's identity. At the time her cover was blown, she was reportedly working on counter-proliferation issues related to Iraq and the Middle East.
"Think of all the people all around the world who were in meetings with her, who are now wondering whether they were photographed with her, whether their lives are in jeopardy," Cotchett said.

A judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia will hear the defendants' motion to dismiss in early February, said Cotchett, who acknowledged that defeating the motion will be a challenge. But the former Army Special Forces colonel will make it as difficult as possible for his opponents to avert a trial.

"There's no lawyer who has more of a go-for-the-throat, never stop, push, drive, squeeze mentality than Joe," said George Corey, a Millbrae attorney who has worked with — and against — Cotchett. "All you have to do is be on the other side of the case, and you'll find out. You'll think he has five legs and 10 arms coming at you."

Much of Cotchett's reputation stems from a case he brought against Lincoln Savings and Loan in the early 1990s on behalf of more than 20,000 pensioners. He won a judgment for $3.3 billion, an amount that was later reduced to $1.75 billion. He also won verdicts of more than $200 million in the 1980s related to the collapse of Technical Equities Corp. of San Jose.
Corey said Cotchett puts relentless pressure on opposing counsel during every phase of a trial and disguises a "brilliant mind" behind a blustery exterior.

"He's superb with juries," said Corey. "They like him, they like his brashness ... they like his homey approach to them. There's a whole lot of mom and apple pie in his manner."
Mel Cohn, a retired San Mateo County Superior Court judge, witnessed Cotchett's growth as a courtroom attorney from the bench.

"As a trial lawyer, he's obviously one of the best in the country," Cohn said. "He has a lot of poise ... and he seems to go over well with jurors." More on the story.