Johnnie L Cochran, Jr. was born on 2 October 1937, in Shreveport, Louisiana, USA, and is a lawyer, best known for being the defense lawyer of OJ Simpson during his trial when charged with the murder of his wife. He has also represented a lot of big names in the entertainment industry, and all of his efforts helped put his net worth to where it stood when he passed away in 2005.
How rich was Johnnie Cochran? As of mid-2016, sources estimate a net worth that was at $8 million, mostly earned through a successful career as a lawyer. He worked with many high profile names, including Jim Brown, Snoop Dogg, Michael Jackson, and Geronimo Pratt. He was well known for his skills in the courtroom, and his stand against police brutality. All of these ensured the position of his wealth.
Johnnie Cochran Net Worth $8 million
Cochran attended Los Angeles High School, and in 1955 matriculated at the top of his class. He went on to attend the University of California, Los Angeles, graduating with a degree in business economics, then in 1962 he received a Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School. According to reports, Johnnie was inspired by Thurgood Marshall’s victory in “Brown v. Board of Education” and this led to him pursuing law. After passing the California bar, he took a job as a deputy city attorney focused on criminal activities. During his time there, he got his first celebrity case with Lenny Bruce, who was arrested because of obscenity. Two years later, he went into private practice and started his own firm called Cochran, Atkins & Evans. One of his first notable cases was against several police officers charged with the murder of Leonard Deadwyler. Despite losing the case, he was able to change many things concerning the black community, after which he was involved with a number of criminal and police brutality cases.
In 1978, he returned to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office to become the first black assistant district attorney. After staying there for five years, he resigned to establish the Johnnie L Cochran, Jr. law firm, but after winning $760,000 for a case involving Ron Settles, he expanded to Cochran, Mitchell & Jenna, and later Cochran, Cherry, Givens & Smith. His offices were growing in size as a result of his successes in court, and his growing net worth led to him owning a Jaguar and Rolls-Royce cars, two apartments in West Hollywood, and homes in Los Angeles.
One of his most notable cases was defending OJ Simpson accused of the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. He used the phrase “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit” for evidence of a bloodstained glove that didn’t fit Simpson. He also brought out the issue of race which led to criticisms. He then represented Abner Louima who was sodomized with a plunger by police, and helped him get $8.75 million, making it the largest police brutality settlement in New York City. In 2001, he represented Sean ‘P. Diddy‘ Combs on stolen weapons charges and bribery, which led to an acquittal. Combs would be the last criminal case he represented.
For his personal life, it is known that Johnnie was married to Barbara Berry Cochran from 1960 to 1977. He was then married to Sylvia Dale from 1985 until his death. He had three children from his marriages. In 2003, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor that eventually led to his death in March 2005.
[To the jury of the O.J. Simpson murder case, referring to police corruption in his closing arguments] who then "polices" the police? You police the police.
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[on wining the OJ Simpson case] We fought all the battles, we fought by their rules and we won.
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[Referring to the black gloves found at the crime scene] If it doesn't fit, you must acquit.
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Fact
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Has represented many high profile clients such as actor Todd Bridges, singer Michael Jackson, rappers Tupac Shakur, Sean Combs, Snoop Dogg, heavyweight championship boxer Riddick Bowe, and athlete Marion Jones.
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[During the OJ Simpson murder trial] the media gave their defense team the nickname "The "Dream Team" because the team consisted of prominent lawyers such as F. Lee Bailey, Robert Shapiro, Robert Kardashian and Alan Dershowitz., all led by Johnnie L. Cochran Jr.
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Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume 7, 2003-2005, pages 87-89. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2007.
Known in Los Angeles as a brilliant trial attorney at the start of the 1990s, Cochran reportedly received only $100,000 of the multi-million dollar fee paid by O.J. Simpson to attorney Robert Shapiro. Shapiro acted as a broker for the defense, assembling the defense team and bringing in Cochran, F. Lee Bailey and Barry Scheck, all of whom helped save Simpson from what seemed, at first, to be a sure conviction for murdering his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson. Though his fee was relatively small, the publicity generated by the trial was enormous, and before the trial ended with an acquittal, Cochran was world famous.
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He was the basis for Jackie Chiles, the flashy lawyer played by Phil Morris on the TV series Seinfeld (1990). Even the initials are the same.
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His catchphrase in the Simpson trial, "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit," became famous over the years. It derived from a dramatic moment during which Simpson tried on a pair of bloodstained "murder gloves" to show jurors they did not fit.
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Was a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc.
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Graduated from UCLA; law degree from Loyola Marymount University.
$8 Million
