- Hardcover: 404 pages
- Publisher: Prometheus Books (Sep 2010)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1616142103
- ISBN-13: 978-1616142100
- Product Dimensions: 23.9 x 15.7 x 2.5 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,333,714 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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10 reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Essential and recommended
12 Oct 2010
Format:Hardcover
This is a fascinating book. Dealing with an emotional and contentious subject in a strident age--winning legal battles by managing the media to influence the court of public opinion--Kendall Coffey writes with lucidity, knowledge and insight. As he says in the Afterword, "Like most lawyers, I have taken the world as I find it and have tried to practice my profession within the limits of its rules and realities, both written and unwritten."
The premise is straightforward: historically, public opinion has always influenced the legal process, whether we're comfortable with that concept or not. Public opinion is shaped by the media, which has evolved from stone tablets and broadsheets to a 24/7 cycle of television and the internet. Lawyers need to be aware of how to create media strategies to achieve the best outcome for their clients, and the public needs to be aware of how manipulative and political those processes are. To a political and legal junkie like me, this is catnip. It is also extremely entertaining.
Equably examining famous historical and contemporary cases, from the trial of Socrates to the recent scandal of Scott Rothstein, Mr. Coffey breaks each into its most important historical and political elements--analyzing the strategic reason for each prosecutorial and defense move like the giant chess game it is. The encapsulated summaries are a lagniappe.
The cases with which he was personally involved are among our most significant and mesmerizing. Who can forget the televised sight of federal agents kicking in the doors of the Gonzalez house in Miami at 5:00 a.m. to seize Elian--while Coffey was in a back room hammering out a putative deal with Janet Reno--and ultimately fleeing from the tear gas along with everyone else? And how this indirectly led to the constitutional crisis of the 2000 presidential election, the "Brooks Brothers revolution", one of those moments in which the beating heart of our democracy stopped.
At some point this book will probably be required reading for law students, but it should be even more so for the rest of us, seeking to understand how in this fractured and tumultuous era, in one of the most important spheres of our still extant democracy, things really work.
The premise is straightforward: historically, public opinion has always influenced the legal process, whether we're comfortable with that concept or not. Public opinion is shaped by the media, which has evolved from stone tablets and broadsheets to a 24/7 cycle of television and the internet. Lawyers need to be aware of how to create media strategies to achieve the best outcome for their clients, and the public needs to be aware of how manipulative and political those processes are. To a political and legal junkie like me, this is catnip. It is also extremely entertaining.
Equably examining famous historical and contemporary cases, from the trial of Socrates to the recent scandal of Scott Rothstein, Mr. Coffey breaks each into its most important historical and political elements--analyzing the strategic reason for each prosecutorial and defense move like the giant chess game it is. The encapsulated summaries are a lagniappe.
The cases with which he was personally involved are among our most significant and mesmerizing. Who can forget the televised sight of federal agents kicking in the doors of the Gonzalez house in Miami at 5:00 a.m. to seize Elian--while Coffey was in a back room hammering out a putative deal with Janet Reno--and ultimately fleeing from the tear gas along with everyone else? And how this indirectly led to the constitutional crisis of the 2000 presidential election, the "Brooks Brothers revolution", one of those moments in which the beating heart of our democracy stopped.
At some point this book will probably be required reading for law students, but it should be even more so for the rest of us, seeking to understand how in this fractured and tumultuous era, in one of the most important spheres of our still extant democracy, things really work.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Spinning Gold
27 Oct 2010
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Well written and thoroughly documented, Kendall Coffey's "Spinning the Law" is a must-read, not just for attorneys but for anyone wishing to understand the American legal process as it actually functions, warts and all. In a calm, measured voice, he describes how prosecutors and the defense team address the court of public opinion as much as the court of law in high-profile cases.
Drawing from his experience as a former U.S. Attorney and prominent private practitioner, Coffey weaves a mesmerizing narrative of cases that dominated national headlines, like the Elian Gonzalez drama and the Bush-Gore election battle. Not one to self-aggrandize, he readily admits his own mistakes in a refreshingly open and honest manner, making his measured, even-handed critiques of others more meaningful. He dissects not only contemporary cases such as Martha Stewart, O. J. Simpson, Michael Jackson, Kobe Bryant and Michael Vick, but his well-researched discussions of the trials of Socrates, Joan of Arc and Oscar Wilde and the Lindbergh kidnapping show that legal spin is not just a modern phenomenon.
I look forward to looking at the spin more closely when the next high-profile legal case arrives. The lessons from this terrific book will make an impact on the reader's understanding of legal reality.
Disclaimer: the author of this review is a former law partner of the author.
Drawing from his experience as a former U.S. Attorney and prominent private practitioner, Coffey weaves a mesmerizing narrative of cases that dominated national headlines, like the Elian Gonzalez drama and the Bush-Gore election battle. Not one to self-aggrandize, he readily admits his own mistakes in a refreshingly open and honest manner, making his measured, even-handed critiques of others more meaningful. He dissects not only contemporary cases such as Martha Stewart, O. J. Simpson, Michael Jackson, Kobe Bryant and Michael Vick, but his well-researched discussions of the trials of Socrates, Joan of Arc and Oscar Wilde and the Lindbergh kidnapping show that legal spin is not just a modern phenomenon.
I look forward to looking at the spin more closely when the next high-profile legal case arrives. The lessons from this terrific book will make an impact on the reader's understanding of legal reality.
Disclaimer: the author of this review is a former law partner of the author.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Amazing Law Thriller
10 Oct 2010
Format:Hardcover
I really enjoyed this book and honestly couldn't put it down. Its opens a window into some of the nation's most high profile cases, its almost like reading a soap opera and you can't believe this events really took place. Kendall Coffey the "super lawyer" makes an amazing job of humanizing himself and his high profile clients. This book is a true testimony to the South Florida culture and its inner workings and I believe it offers many valuable insights into a world most of only hear about from the news. Its a book that will be referenced for years to come.
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