For Immediate Release

	March 30, 2005 NATIONAL BAR ASSOCIATION MOURNS DEATH OF JOHNNIE COCHRAN Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr. Washington, DC - (March 29, 2005) - Today, the National Bar Association (NBA) and legal profession mourn the loss of one of the greatest lawyers and humanitarians of this modern era. “The death of Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr. is a loss to the entire legal profession. Cochran was an assuring presence of justice for the image and integrity of the legal profession for all. He brought great credibility to the profession and symbolized opportunity for equal justice for many people, particularly people of color, - not just in America but throughout the world,” says Kim Keenan, President of the National Bar Association. "Throughout his life, Cochran epitomized the personal and professional qualities of good character, decency, and compassion for all which the legal profession so demands of lawyers and judges,” says Keenan. In 1996, Cochran received the NBA Gertrude E. Rush Award, which is one of the highest honors bestowed by the Association. Cochran was an active member of the NBA and participated in several high profiled seminars and training programs for lawyers, including his “Dream Team” symposium following the verdict in the O.J. Simpson Trial and the “Mock Trial of the New Millennium” co-hosted with famed personal injury attorney Willie Gary of Stuart, Florida, during the NBA 75th Annual Convention held in Washington, DC in 2000. "The profession has lost a great icon”, says John Crump, Executive Director of the NBA. “He was a great lawyer and a great person.” Cochran always exhibited compassion for the least of thee. "I recall the night he received the NBA Gertrude E. Rush Award. After taking pictures with the dais and for press, he came down off the podium and responded to a request of a hotel employee. I later found him quietly and humbly taking pictures with ecstatic workers in the kitchen area. You could sense that he cared as he thanked and wished them well. He had a way of making everyone feel an important part of life,” says Crump. Cochran consistently contributed to the growth of the association. He selflessly participated in legal training and civil rights workshops to enhance lawyer’s skills and to develop legal strategy. He contributed irrespective of his trial schedule. He worked with the NBA and NAACP, as well as numerous other groups. He participated in the NBA conventions and the NAACP CLE Seminar. Cochran embraced a “new frontier thinking” that strategize to “hit them where it hurts, in their pocket books.” Cochran represented diverse clients, in addition to noted celebrities and business enterprises. He represented plaintiffs in police brutality, discrimination, and personal injury cases. He participated in winning some of the largest damage awards in the history of the profession as well as “righting some of the darkest wrongs." Founded in 1925, the National Bar Association is the nation’s oldest and largest association of African American and minority attorneys and judges. It represents a network of more than 25,000 lawyers and judges and has over 80 chapters and affiliated organizations throughout the United States, Canada, England, Africa and the Caribbean.