[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 5 (Thursday, January 9, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E39-E40]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        RECOGNIZING JOE COTCHETT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JACKIE SPEIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 9, 2014

  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize an extraordinary man, 
and a true humanitarian, who is celebrating his 75th birthday and his 
50th anniversary practicing law in pursuit of justice for all 
Americans. Joe Cotchett is a Burlingame attorney known for his 
intellectual honesty, his booming declaration of indignation over the 
lack of justice for his clients, and an enormous heart that pumps love 
out to all, especially those in urgent need.
  A few examples of his work over the years demonstrate his dedication 
to the rule of law. This chamber may never have heard of Joe Cotchett, 
but many have heard of Charles Keating, the former CEO of Lincoln 
Savings and Loan. Joe pursued Keating through the years until senior 
citizens who were bilked had received some measure of recompense. He 
took the case when others considered it a hopeless cause. Not to Joe. 
Justice is never hopeless in the law offices of Joe Cotchett.
  In fact, white collar criminals know the name of Joe Cotchett well, 
as he pursued them in the interests of swindled investors in companies 
such as Technical Equities. When banks and securities firms sold 
Enron's bonds and assured investors that the bonds were sound, they 
defrauded buyers. Joe Cotchett held the sellers accountable. More 
recently, the County of San Mateo is likely to receive tens of millions 
of dollars through a suit filed against Lehman Brothers and the 
personal assets of its former CEO, Richard Fuld. Public agencies and 
the human needs that they serve will recover from wrongdoers, thanks to 
Joe Cotchett.
  In the eyes of many in modern day America, civil justice is a rich 
man's right and a stale leftover due any poor man with the temerity to 
plead at the doors of a courtroom. In the eyes of Joe Cotchett, justice 
is an everyday pursuit on behalf of any American who has been wronged 
and who deserves redress.
  Mr. Speaker, there are probably many persons who are alive today who 
unknowingly owe their economic well-being and peace of mind to Joe 
Cotchett. In 2000, Consumers Union was hit with a product disparagement 
and defamation suit. An automaker claimed that Consumers Union had hurt 
its reputation. Indeed, when the magazine pointed out that vehicles 
made by the company were prone to rollovers, sales fell. Joe Cotchett 
successfully defended Consumers Union and the right of investigative, 
consumer-oriented journalism to spell out the truth to buyers. Lives 
then and now are saved because this lawsuit and another in 2004 were 
not successful. The truth about dangerous products will continue to be 
published.
  Most recently, he recovered $1.5 billion for California counties 
which had sued lead paint manufacturers for the damage done to children 
by lead-tainted products. The settlement will go towards removing lead 
from the homes of low income children throughout California.
  He once defended the justices of the California Supreme Court who 
were sued by various Wall Street interests. Wall Street was a bit 
unhappy with the court's rules regarding arbitration. The Wall 
Streeters were unsuccessful, thanks to Joe, and now it is demonstrable 
that there is justice even for justices but, most importantly, for the 
public interest that these justices serve.
  Joe's work is not merely on behalf of those who can pay. Amerasian 
children in the Philippines were left in villages after Subic Bay Naval 
Base closed. Joe mounted a suit on their behalf that resulted in a 
settlement giving

[[Page E40]]

direct U.S. aid to the children fathered by U.S. servicemembers. 
Locally, Joe and his law firm are routinely at the top of the list of 
donors to nonprofits helping the disabled, mentally ill, homeless and 
many others. It would be difficult to overstate the generosity of Joe 
towards his many communities, including $5 million to create an 
endowment at California State Polytechnic University to promote the 
teaching of mathematics and science. Joe Cotchett has been ``paying it 
forward'' for decades, all with the knowledge that the meaningful 
legacies of any man's life are not memorialized in stone but rather 
demonstrated by the conscientious, continuous replacement of despair 
and anguish with hope and well-being.
  Of course, over 50 years of practice it would be expected that an 
accomplished advocate would receive many honors and serve in many 
positions. Joe's honors and places of service are so numerous that they 
defy enumeration. Let me name just a few: Service on the board of the 
San Mateo County Heart Association, the San Mateo Boys and Girls Club, 
the Peninsula Association of Retarded Children and Adults, the Bay 
Meadows Foundation, Disability Rights Advocates, Public Citizen, and 
Earth Justice. He has lectured at the law schools of Harvard, Stanford, 
the University of Southern California, Georgetown, and U.C. Hastings 
College of the Law. Among his many honors have been those bestowed by 
the Anti-Defamation League, trial lawyer associations both state and 
national, and the State Bar of California. He has been published seven 
times and is a member of eight professional organizations, including 
the State Bar of California, and the bar associations of New York and 
the District of Columbia. He is also admitted to the Bar of the Supreme 
Court of the United States.
  Joe Cotchett received his B.S. in Engineering from California State 
Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo in June 1960, being named an 
outstanding graduate, and his J.D. from Hastings College of the Law at 
the University of California in June 1964. He received an Honorary 
Doctor of Laws from Cal Poly and Honorary Doctor of Letters degrees 
from Notre Dame de Namur University and the University of San 
Francisco. He is the author of ``The Ethics Gap'', ``California 
Continuing Education of the Bar'' and many others. His honors include 
being named Top 100 Lawyers in California by California Daily Journal 
in 2011 and the Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America list for 2011.
  Do you see the theme here, my fellow members? Starving children. 
Children being poisoned by lead. Trusting consumers. The Earth in all 
her glory? Investors who legitimately trusted in free and fair markets? 
These are the clients of an honest, thoughtful advocate. An honest man 
is sometimes described as being made of the salt of the Earth. In fact, 
Joe is a bit salty. He can sometimes be crusty. But he is definitely of 
this Earth. Joe Cotchett deserves a happy 75th birthday and a warm 
round of applause for 50 years of service in the interest of justice. 
America is always strengthened by citizen advocates who see the 
public's interest and who defend it unstintingly. This nation should 
hope that there are many more years in the life and service of Joseph 
W. Cotchett, an historic defender of American democracy.

                          ____________________