[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 76 (Wednesday, May 19, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E880-E881]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




A TRIBUTE TO JOSEPH W. COTCHETT ON THE OCCASION OF NOTRE DAME DE NAMUR 
             UNIVERSITY'S 2010 COMMUNITY SPIRIT AWARD GALA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ANNA G. ESHOO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 19, 2010

  Ms. ESHOO. Madam Speaker, it can be said that the word extraordinary 
has become too commonplace a term used in all-too-ordinary 
circumstances.
  I rise today in appreciation of a man who fully embodies that word, a 
truly extraordinary man--Joseph W. Cotchett.
  He is a man of passion and great intellect, a man of incredible 
attention to detail, a broad, sweeping embrace for all life has to 
offer, and a serious man capable of great joy. He has a thirst for 
fairness, a passion for justice and an unquenchable desire to speak for 
those who cannot speak for themselves.
  On the evening of May 22, 2010, Joe is being honored with the Notre 
Dame de Namur University 2010 Community Spirit Award. The event is sold 
out and will be attended by friends, colleagues and admirers, each with 
a story about Joe standing at their side in a time of need. Similarly, 
the Honorary Gala Committee is more than 150 names long and represents 
every profession and every walk of life that Joe has touched--labor, 
sports, finance, entertainment, the environment, politics . . . 
including the Speaker of the House, and, of course, his beloved 
profession of the law.
  Joe embodies the finest values of our great nation. With an abiding 
love for his country, Joe served in the U.S. Army in the Intelligence 
Corps, the Judge Advocate General's Corps, and as a paratrooper in 
Special Forces. After active duty, he remained in the Army Reserve for 
more than 30 years, retiring as a Colonel.
  His generosity is legendary . . . whether making a major gift to his 
alma mater, California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, where 
he received a degree in Engineering, or the University of California 
Hastings College of the Law, where he received his law degree. He gives 
everywhere and to everyone and in countless ways--rebuilding a landmark 
grocery store in Half Moon Bay, buying a table at the annual 
fundraising events of dozens of local nonprofits, or serving as a board 
member to dozens of others.
  Then there is Joe Cotchett, the lawyer. He has been named one of our 
nation's preeminent trial lawyers for more than decade, winning every 
recognition in his profession. He has won judgment after judgment--
totaling billions of dollars--on behalf of investors defrauded by 
modern-day robber barons.
  Often donating the time and resources of his talented law firm, Joe 
has defended the First Amendment against corporate bullying, defended 
citizens against the oppressive hand of government, brought suit on 
behalf of the dispossessed children of American servicemen in the 
Philippines and defended the judicial system against Wall Street.
  Wherever power is abused, greed runs rampant or injustice flourishes, 
Joe is there to stand up and to bring to account those who would twist 
the American system to their own ends.
  Remarkably, after decades of fighting the good fight, he has not 
grown weary.
  He has not lost his capacity to get angry.
  For all this, he is a man of old-fashioned values . . . carry your 
own weight, pay your own way, tend to your family and your friends. He 
has an unending pride in his five children and six grandchildren, who 
he organizes as if they, too, served in the Armed Forces.
  And he does all these things with an endearing quirkiness that can 
take the form of worrying whether all the chairs in the conference room 
are facing in the right direction or eliminating every speck of dust 
around.
  Joe is tender and kind. He honors each of us with his presence and 
does so in a way that makes us feel special when we are blessed to be 
with him.
  Madam Speaker, I ask the entire House of Representatives to join me 
and the community

[[Page E881]]

of friends who will gather in an expression of appreciation for Joseph 
W. Cotchett--a lion of the courtroom, a lover of life, a benefactor, a 
patriot and a great American.

                          ____________________