» lawyers, Marketing » I May Be Amazingly Brilliant and Tall And Good-Looking But I Am Still A Nuts-And-Bolts Criminal Defense Lawyer Available To YOU 24/7

I May Be Amazingly Brilliant and Tall And Good-Looking But I Am Still A Nuts-And-Bolts Criminal Defense Lawyer Available To YOU 24/7

Over at a public defender, Gideon wrote yesterday about a fascinating overturned conviction:

Michael Skakel has just had his convictions reversed and a new trial ordered by former Appellate Court judge Thomas Bishop, who was designated to preside over and adjudicate Skakel’s petition for writ of habeas corpus.

The allegations revolve mostly around Skakel’s representation by famed celebrity lawyer Mickey Sherman, in that Skakel alleges that Sherman did a terrible job representing him.

That “famed celebrity lawyer” was actually the subject of a post at Simple Justice in 2010 after he pled guilty to two counts of willful failure to pay federal income taxes. The post was about how being a celebrity comes at a price and noted how Mickey Sherman was alleged to have converted for personal use money intended to pay for investigation in Skakel’s case.

Everything with Mickey Sherman was clearly over the top back then, and it seemed his fame and fortune seeking finally caught up to him in his personal life. A quote from Gideon’s post suggests the same was true with his professional life:

Sherman’s handling of the trial and his attitude throughout can best be summed up by this quote of Attorney Michael Fitzpatrick, one of Skakel’s experts:

Sherman’s failure…was a significant strategic error born of an overabundance of self-satisfaction with his [performance].

If you were wondering if Sherman eventually changed his ways and now lives and practices modestly, look no further than his website for proof to the contrary. An article from yesterday at Slate discussed his awesome catchphrase:

I May Be On TV A Lot But I Am Still A Nuts-And-Bolts Criminal Defense Lawyer Available To YOU 24/7.

I deal with so many normal lawyers so much of the time that I occasionally forget there are those among us with egos that defy belief. People like Lindsay Lohan’s lawyer. Or Mickey Sherman, apparently.

As amusing as it may be, we should all be concerned not just that a professional whose time and advice are his stock in trade would see no problem with such an ill-advised humblebrag slogan, but that Mickey Sherman isn’t the only one of his kind. Not by a long shot.

H/T Xochitl

UPDATE: Looks like Scott discussed Sherman’s trial performance at Simple Justice in 2010 as well (also a good read, and worth clicking through for the post’s title alone)

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5 Responses to "I May Be Amazingly Brilliant and Tall And Good-Looking But I Am Still A Nuts-And-Bolts Criminal Defense Lawyer Available To YOU 24/7"

  1. shg says:

    It’s not easy for a lawyer to make himself into a star. We don’t have to sing, dance, tell jokes or play a musical instrument to be a lawyer. We have about as much innate star power as Kim Kardashian.

    And so, any lawyer who wants to be a star has to work very, very hard at it. Sometimes going to inappropriate lengths. A brilliant smile is a good start, but hardly enough to make it on prime time.

    1. Matt Brown says:

      I figure I’ll just blog my way to stardom. Can’t imagine that won’t work…

      1. shg says:

        Well, you are adorably cute, and all.

  2. Lindsay Lohan sure can pick ’em. Here’s once of Scott’s posts about yet another of her lawyers:

    http://blog.simplejustice.us/2010/07/16/loose-lips/

    He sounds like just what you’re talking about. I don’t know if he’s a celebrity lawyer, but he sure wants to be. Make sure you check out his website.

    1. Matt Brown says:

      The sad thing is that there are people like that everywhere, even here in little ol’ AZ. I just don’t see them in court that often for some odd reason…

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