It saddens me to hear that Johnnie Cochran died yesterday from an inoperable brain tumor. I had the pleasure of meeting Johnnie Cochran in 1998 when I was working to help organize the annual convention of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association in New York City. Mr. Cochran was a good friend of my boss, attorney Glenn Lau Kee and was the keynote speaker at one of the event’s evening banquets.

As the picture here shows (that’s me on the far right), several of us were able to briefly meet and hang out with him and we all found him to be very approachable, generous, and friendly. My wife even told me that she rode up the elevator with Mr. Cochran and chatted easily with him and was surprised to find him without any bodyguards.

As the news article points out, Mr. Cochran was most well known for successfully helping to acquit O.J. Simpson of double murder charges and unfortunately, many people are still rather resentful toward him for that. However, as my boss introduced him as the keynote speaker, he took care to also describe the other kind of work that Mr. Cochran is known for. They include winning several early and high-profile cases against the Los Angeles Police Department in regard to police brutality and misconduct.

In other words, Johnnie Cochran was not just a criminal defense attorney but also one of the best civil rights attorneys in history. That is how I will remember him, along with his pleasant demeanor and friendly, casual style. Thanks for fighting for us, Johnnie.