Getting to Know Paul Bergrin

I haven't deserted this blog or Paul Bergrin and have spent more time behind the scenes of this case than I did previously. I won't tell you a lie - the verdicts were extremely distressing to me. I still cry when I think about it, so I avoid doing so at times. I have spent more time getting to know Paul and understanding his interactions with people and beyond that, my health is poor and I'm limited in time as a result.

Paul's post trial motion was filed on the 16th of May (an omnibus motion) and he awaits word from the court at this point. You can read the hefty brief here: Bergrin Omnibus Motion 16 May 2013

I will tell you that there is information that the government has hidden in this case, but I imagine that you already guessed that much. With a case like this, the dirt is bound to come out in the wash eventually - we knew it would - and some of it is worse than I thought it could be. I hate secrets and I hate the fact that I can't just spill it here and now, but it is what it is.

If you have arrived at this blog after searching for information on any specific government witness, perhaps not even knowing the party was a witness, this is an appeal to you. We need more information about some of these sleazy government witnesses / criminal informants involved in this case. Contact me and I will put you in touch with the right person.

Paul Bergrin was never a stuffy corporate lawyer and many of you may not be able to identify with him because of that fact. An article that I read online some time ago described Paul as "a courtroom brawler" and that's true. He fought for each client he ever had in a court of law if it was at all possible. Sometimes it wasn't possible as the evidence against the particular client was overwhelming and he utilized his knowledge as a former prosecutor and made the best deal possible.

I asked someone with the defense a question about Paul the other day. The question concerned a tape that prosecutors played for the court - a conversation between Paul and Rakim Baskerville, I believe. Sometimes the discovery was so overwhelming that it was easy to mix-up names, but I think the conversation was with Rakim without spending the next week sifting through transcripts to be 100% sure, but it could also be Rakeem or Hakeem Curry that I'm referring to:

Me: He called him "bro". What's up with that?

Defense friend: Paul called everyone "bro". Nothing unusual there.

Me: Really? Paul referred to clients as "bro"?

Defense friend: Yup, that's Paul. That's who he is.

I realized more about Paul Bergrin from that short conversation than I did reading through documents for an entire month. He was a street lawyer. He identified with his clients. He treated his clients as he did his friends. He's the type of man that would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. He was the type of attorney that the government needed silenced. It was Paul's background that made him what he was in the arena of law.

By now you've already read enough about Paul's background that I do not need to repeat it here except to say that it was how he grew-up, his home life as a child and teen, and his military background that made him the man he is. Paul's one major weakness, in my eyes, is women. He loves all women and trusts that none will do him any harm. That and now he has turned religious on me. Please don't start rambling religious nonsense at me in emails because that would stop me from responding in the future. I respect your right to your religion as long as you don't expect me to listen to it.

So when was the last time that your attorney called you bro? Sometimes I make excuses for attorneys that are really stuffed shirts. I realize that a certain level of distancing from clients is necessary - this case proves that 10x over - but I have always detested attorneys that consider themselves above the rest of us, and I have encountered many over the years.

Shortly after the verdicts in this case, I contacted a certain law office in my area to ask a question for Paul. Paul needed to know how the attorney worded his FOIA requests in the Antonino Lyons case because most of the documents are not available in PACER. Prior to this attempted contact, I had a high opinion of this attorney and his law offices, probably because of the Lyons case more than anything else, but now consider them nothing more than stuffed shirts and need to remove them from my recommended attorneys list on the other blog. A question so simple and he couldn't manage to attach a doc and email it back or even respond. That's the type of attorney that you don't want. He's above us.

Paul Bergrin was the type of attorney that you do want. His courtroom brawling and ability to deal with everyone on their own level and equally without regard to money made him the man he is today; well, minus the weird religious stuff lately. Never change Paul - because it's not you; it is the government with the problem.

We need more attorneys like Paul Bergrin in the arena of law in the US, because, well, it is indeed an arena. Make no mistake - this fight is far from over and this is the gladiatorial combat of our time. My bet is still on Paul.