Joseph W. Cotchett

Following college, Cotchett served as an Officer in the U.S. Army Intelligence Corps, followed by years as a Special Forces paratrooper and then a Judge Advocates General’s JAG Corps officer, in the active reserves. Before transferring to the JAG, he made 12 airborne operations. He retired from Active Reserve duty in 1991 with the rank of Colonel with various citations including the distinguished Legion of Merit for exceptionally meritorious and outstanding services. He is a member of many veteran and airborne associations, having served on active duty 1960-1961. From 2001 to 2005, he served on the Board of the Army War College Foundation in Carlisle, Pennsylvania which supports the prestigious Army War College, the graduate school for the senior commanders of all branches of the service, including officers from foreign allies. He lectures at various veterans' groups and active duty installments.

In the 1980s, Cotchett won mammoth judgments and settlements for investors in white-collar fraud cases, with jury verdicts of more than $200 million arising out of the collapse of the Technical Equities Corp. in San Jose. He is known nationally as the lead trial lawyer for 23,000 plaintiffs in the Lincoln Savings & Loan Association/American Continental Corp. case in 1990 involving Charles Keating, his lawyers and accountants in Tucson, Arizona. He won one of the then largest jury verdicts in US history, $3.3 billion. He obtained and returned to senior citizens nearly $400 million in settlements from lawyers, accountants and professionals caught in the scandal of the fraud.Cotchett has represented both the National Football League and teams since the early 1980s in various legal actions. As trial counsel for E. & J. Gallo Winery, he won a celebrated defense jury verdict in a trade dress infringement case involving wine labels and bottles produced by Gallo. The firm regularly represents Gallo in numerous matters.In the 1990s, Cotchett's cases included major fraud, mass torts and environmental cases. He obtained a settlement for $25 million in relation to a qui tam suit involving the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, and a $96 million settlement from three defendants in a major antitrust action against the world’s largest producers of citric acid. He served as lead counsel representing writers, actors and directors in the class-action suit challenging the use of net-profits contracts in the movie industry and was named co-lead counsel for the bondholders in the bankruptcy of Orange County, California.In the 2000s, Cotchett served as chief trial counsel for Consumers Union, successfully defending the watchdog consumer group in a product disparagement and defamation suit in Federal Court in Los Angeles. Isuzu Motors of Japan had sued Consumers Union for disparagement to the 1995-96 Trooper, claiming millions in damages. Following an eight-week trial, a jury ruled in favor of Consumers Union. Trial Lawyers for Public Justice honored Cotchett as Trial Lawyer of the Year in 2000 in honor of his “outstanding contribution to the public interest” through his work for Consumers Union. Also, in 2000, Consumer Attorneys of California gave Cotchett its “Presidential Award of Merit.” In 2004, he was the lead trial counsel in a product defamation case against Consumers Union. The jury ruled for Consumer Union in what was considered a major victory for a free press and the First Amendment.Cotchett successfully represented the Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court and the individual Justices along with the Judicial Council, in litigation brought against them by the New York Stock Exchange and the National Association of Securities Dealers. The two Wall Street forces had filed suit against the Judicial Council challenging the State of California on establishing guidelines for arbitrators who hear complaints from investors in the state.In recent years, Cotchett has taken on major corporate entities and Wall Street for financial fraud. He and the firm are involved in litigation resulting from nearly every major corporate scandal including Enron, Worldcom, Global Crossing, Homestore.com, Qwest, Montana Power Company, Lehman, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and numerous others on behalf of private investors and public pensions. The firm has represented the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, California State Teachers’ Retirement System, and the University of California Board of Regents, along with numerous political subdivisions of the state, such as counties, cities, and districts.