Gary Kohlman

W. Gary Kohlman
Nationality American
Fields Criminal law, Criminal procedure, Labor law
Institutions National Basketball Players Association
Alma mater University of Michigan (B.A.)
University of Michigan Law School (J.D.)
Academic advisors Yale Kamisar
Influenced Charles Ogletree

Warren Gary Kohlman is the general counsel to the National Basketball Players Association and an American criminal defense attorney. Kohlman has represented several high-profile defendants and worked as a public defender for the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia.

Education

Kohlman earned a bachelor of arts from the University of Michigan in 1968 and then graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 1971, where he was mentored by Professor Yale Kamisar. Kohlman was elected to the Order of the Coif, graduating in the top ten percent of his graduating class.[1]

After law school, he worked as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Samuel Roberts of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

Legal career

Public defender

After clerking, Kohlman joined the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia. He worked for PDS from 1973-1982, serving as the Training Director and as the Felony Trial Chief.[2] While serving as training director, Kohlman trained Harvard Law Professor Charles Ogletree.[3] DC Superior Court Judge Eugene N. Hamilton called Kohlman an outstanding trial attorney.[3]

While with PDS, Kohlman argued before the United States Supreme Court.[4]

Private practice

In the 1980s, Kohlman defended FBI Agent H. Edward Tickel in a variety of criminal cases including robbing the FBI credit union.[5] In 1985–1986, Kohlman represented Larry Wu-tai Chin. Chin was a Chinese language translator who was convicted for selling classified documents to the People's Republic of China from 1952 to 1985 while working for the Central Intelligence Agency.[6] He represented John Jenrette in the wake of the ABSCAM investigation.[7] Kohlman worked in a private law practice with Mark J. Rochon, Jr. and Michele A. Roberts. In 1995, Kohlman joined Bredhoff & Kaiser, a Washington DC law firm, where he worked until 2014.[2]

In the 1990s, Kohlman represented Conley D. Wolfswinkel as a part of the Keating Five scandal.[8] He represented Terry Nichols in a Washington, DC matter.[9] Kohlman represented two witnesses before Kenneth Starr's grand jury regarding the Lewinsky scandal.[10]

In the 2000s, Kohlman defended Scott Ritter on charges of soliciting minors for sex online.[11] In 2014, Kohlman—representing Northwestern University football students—cross-examined head coach Pat Fitzgerald in a case before the National Labor Relations Board.[12] Lester Munston described his cross-examination as quiet and artful, eliciting exactly the type of proof that the players needed from Fitzgerald[12] The regional director of the NLRB who heard the case found that Northwestern scholarship football players were university employees and thus entitled to unionize. That decision is being appealed by Northwestern.[13]

NBPA

In 2014, the National Basketball Players Association hired Kohlman as its new general counsel.[14] Kohlman worked with Michele A. Roberts—who the current executive director of the NBPA—in the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia and then worked together as partners in a private firm.[14] In 2015, Kohlman alleged that the NBA age limit has racial undertones.[15] He provided support to Thabo Sefolosha after he was arrested by the New York Police Department.[16]

Law professor

Kohlman is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center where he teaches a course on federal white collar crime[17] and is on the faculty of the Harvard Law School Trial Advocacy Workshop.

Personal Life

Kohlman is currently married to Washington, D.C. based attorney, Lesley Zork. He has four children, Jake, Becca, Abby, and Jessie Ann Kohlman.

Other organizations

Kohlman serves on the board of Gideon's Promise.[2] He also serves on the board of JusticeAid.[18] Kohlman has served on the board of trustees for the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia.[19]

Writings

References

  1. "University of Michigan Official Publication, Volume 2, Issues 7-19". University of Michigan. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 "Kohlman Profile". Gideon's Promise. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  3. 1 2 Hamilton, Eugene. "To Professor Charles J. Ogletree, Jr." (PDF). Harvard Law Review. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  4. "United States v. Crews". Oyez. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  5. Maitland, Leslie. "2 FEDERAL JURIES INDICT AN F.B.I. AGENT". NY Times. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  6. Murphy, Caryle. "Judge Skeptical of Spy Case Motion". Washington Post. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  7. "Jenrette seeks reversal of his Abscam conviction". Lakeland Ledger. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  8. "Getting a new start". The Associated Press. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  9. Locy, Tony. "JUDGE HERE WON'T ENTER NICHOLS CASE". Washington Post. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  10. Mintz, John. "Lewinsky's First Lawyer Is Defended". Washington Post. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  11. Bai, Matt. "Scott Ritter's Other War". NY Times. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  12. 1 2 Munson, Lester. "Football coach gives players hope". ESPN. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  13. Strauss, Ben. "Still Awaiting Union Ruling, Northwestern Players Focus on Field". NY Times. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  14. 1 2 Strauss, Ben. "N.B.A. Players Union Hires New Counsel". NY Times. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  15. Harper, Zach. "NBPA attorney alleges NBA age limit has racial undertones". CBS. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  16. Keh, Andrew. "Side Plots for Hawks as They Navigate Playoffs: Arrests and Injury". NY Times. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  17. "Profile W. Gary Kohlman". law.georgetown.edu. Georgetown Law. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  18. "Meet Our Board". justiceaid.org. JusticeAid. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  19. "PDS Press Release" (PDF). PDSDC. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  20. Kohlman, W. Gary. "Book Review: Dynamic Cross-Examination: A Whole New Way to Create Opportunities to Win". NACDL. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
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