The following is an original production of WTCI.

During his 60 year tenure of practicing law.

Bobby Lee Cook has seen it all.

Up, perceived as you obviously do now.

And I thought then that it was quite unjust and that there was a great deal of work to be done by my generation in achieving fundamental fairness, case by case, year by year.

This week I sit down with one of the nation's most sought after defense lawyers, Bobby Lee Cook.

Coming up on the A-list, Bobby Lee Cook was born and raised in Summerville, Georgia, a small rural town located between Chattanooga and Atlanta.

It was here in August of 1949 that he tried his first case.

And it is here that he continues his practice after more than 60 years of immense success and recognition.

He has tried thousands of cases and represented some of the biggest names in the world.

But it is his commitment to upholding justice and the value he places on ethics and integrity that have made Bobby Lee Cook a legend in the courtroom.

Well, Mr. Cook, I am so thrilled to be talking with you today.

Well, I'm delighted to have you here, and it's my pleasure to speak with you.

Well, I'll start with a question that I'm sure you've been asked time and time again, but why did you ever decide to become a lawyer?

Well, it's really not a romantic nature.

I had a before I went in the Navy in World War Two.

I had a split major in chemistry and classics, and I had about two years in the Navy.

And it gave me time to think that certainly I couldn't make a living in with a flat major.

So I decided that maybe I ought to be a lawyer.

So there's as I say, it's not very romantic, but there were no lawyers and not family.

My family were farmers and country merchants.

What was it like growing up in the South during that time?

Well, it was fun.

I had of course, I was born in the slightly before the Depression, but I had a good childhood, a lot of fun as a kid.

It was not bad.

Everybody and there wasn't any money.

People didn't have any money, and jobs were terribly scarce.

But everything was very it was irrelevant.

The the only method of comparison that you had was five or ten miles up the road.

And people were in the same condition.

So you went to Vanderbilt for law school.

And then what was your first job out of school?

I came back to Summerville in 1949 and I opened up an office, a very small office, a two room office above what was then McGinnis Drugstore.

And I hired my first secretary two weeks later and paid $20 a week.

And she was my secretary.

Over 60 years.

She died last year.

Was there any doubt that you would come back to Summerville right after school?

Well, really, there was not.

I wanted to come home and I thought this would be a good place to raise a family and to practice law.

Oh, I thought then.

And I still think that you can be as good a lawyer in Summerville as you can in New York.

I laughingly tell my friends in New York and Washington and all over the country that, you know, it comes as a surprise to them that we read the same books that they do.

So but I have no regret about it.

It's been a lot of fun and continues to be a lot of fun.

And, of course, as you may or may not know, I'm still working.

You are at that still successfully, I might add.

Well, I hope so.

I hope so.

After more than 60 years of practice and a long list of high profile clients, his reputation as one of the best and most sought after defense lawyers in the South continues to grow.

But being a big name in such a small town has not gotten the better of Bobby Lee Cooke.

His compact in for people and his commitment to upholding justice is made clear every Saturday as he opens his doors to pro-bono work for his community.

Do you remember your first case?

I do.

I know this is funny, but it was a murder case.

Your first case was a My.

First case was a murder case.

It was an appointed case.

And of course, I was paid nothing.

And it was a murder case.

A brother, sort of a Cain and Abel sort of thing.

And I won the case accidental.

They of course, it must have been an accident because I certainly was not very competent.

But no, no, it was very interesting.

And of course, back in those days, you know, lawyers who were appointed to cases, we didn't have a public defender.

They received nothing.

There was no pay at all.

And things were a lot different.

You asked me what it was like growing up in the South.

Oh, of course.

A better question would be what was the law practice like in 49 and 50?

And those you know.

What was the law practice like in 49 and 50 those days?

Well, simplistically stated, it was quite different in this part of the South.

Of course, African-Americans were systematically excluded from the jury.

And interesting enough, women could not serve on the jury in Georgia until 1955 or 56.

They were equally excluded.

And of course, in their state, there was a great deal of uniqueness about the law.

Georgia was the only state in the English speaking world or the English speaking jurisdiction in which a defendant who was charged with a crime could not be sworn as a witness in his own behalf.

He or she could only make a non sworn statement.

He could not be examined by his own lawyer.

He could not be asked any questions by his own lawyer.

He could only make an extemporaneous statement.

And that was so that continued to be so until 1958.

But gradually and with some degree of fairness, things began to change.

And we have finally arrived at this day.

In those early years.

How were you able to personally reconcile the fact that here you were kind of this ambassador of justice, but dictated by laws that it seems to you were quite unjust?

Well, I don't know that I was ever able to reconcile it in that regard.

I perceived as you obviously do now, and I thought then that it was quite unjust and that there was a great deal of work to be done by my generation.

And it was my generation that did much work in that regard, you know, in achieving fundamental fairness case by case year by year.

And those of us who grew up in that period have a greater feeling, I believe, or a sense of justice and a sense of fairness, a sense of equality.

And the people have your taste in a little bit of it lately.

Over the course of time, Bobby Lee has seen many changes both in and out of the courtroom, Still, in adapting to such an ever evolving profession, there are some things that remain constant, like the principles he lives and works by.

He has tried thousands of cases over the course of his career, and with over 300 of them being murder trials, it is safe to say that his side is not always the most popular.

But Bobby Lee Cook has always maintained that it is his duty to provide a fair trial for every one of his clients, regardless of what the charges may be.

Have you ever turned down a case?

You have turned down much cases.

What was the general reasoning for those?

Oh, it was for the reason.

A lot of times I don't have the time, you know, I'm too busy or any number, any number of reasons.

But it was not because the case was unpopular.

I had a lot of unpopular cases, and that bothered me a lot.

In fact, I think it's them.

I think it's really the mark of a good lawyer or a great lawyer.

If you can't if you can't stand up to something that's unpopular and held you in the wrong business.

Do you think people are truly innocent until proven guilty or that in this day and age we assume guilt and you will prove innocence?

I certainly know and firmly believed that that principle of law well stated in our jurisprudence, it's a constitutional presumption of innocence.

I think in so many cases and a lot in a lot of cases that some people do not believe that do not believe that that is a correct principle.

But I might say it in that in that regard, I think the jurors, by and large, and in my experience, try very hard to apply that principle on a criminal case.

I find, by and large that juries take their obligations very seriously and attempt to listen to the judge's charge and apply the law in a correct way.

I think one of the biggest mistakes that a lot of lawyers make, they underestimate the intelligence of law.

But I have great confidence in in the jury system.

How good are you at picking a jury for us?

Well, I've been pretty good.

I've heard I've heard you don't believe in the experts who come in and try to use a scientific, you know, information or data that you use your gut.

I tried the old butcher case.

The butcher case in Chattanooga.

That was before your time.

And we were selecting a jury and there was a little 82 year old woman that was on the panel.

And my son in law and one of the lawyers and shouting, Carter Leach, said, Oh, you got to get rid of the old lady.

I said, Well, sort of like her.

I said, She's got a little twinkle in her eyes and I think she wants to serve.

And we took her on the jury.

And after a six week trial, they acquitted him on all counts, 4546 found not guilty.

And the little lady came up to me on a Saturday night when the jury came back out in front of the courthouse and came over and hugged my neck.

And she said, Mr. Bobby Lee, I was with you from the first day.

So.

So at least I would write that.

It is this ability to capture and relate to a jury that has served Bobby Lee Cook well throughout the course of his career.

And though he has maintained his practice in a town of only 3000 residents, his larger than life reputation has long since transcended the limits of his hometown.

He has tried thousands of cases across the United States and around the world and has represented names as big as the Carnegies and the Rockefellers.

His achievements in the courtroom are even rumored to have inspired one of television's most famous defense attorneys.

Now, anybody that I've told that I get the honor of interviewing you has one common response, and that is, isn't that the lawyer that they did the show Matlock, based on?

How many times have you heard that?

Oh, a number of times.

Is there truth to that?

Well, they say it is, but I'm not.

If so, I'm not paid anything.

So I have not received any economic benefit from the accolades that have been bestowed on me that way.

Did you ever meet Andy Griffith or.

Yeah, I know him Yeah.

And what did he ever spend time with you to?

Maybe I spent a little time with it.

Yeah.

Were you ever thrown out of the courtroom like he was on the show?

I've never been thrown out.

I've come closed.

But, you know, I relationship with Judge basically has been very good.

Very good.

I think one of the worst experiences that I ever had was a trial in Chattanooga before a federal judge who is now dead.

Judge Claude Morton, a very difficult man to deal with.

I think all lawyers would agree with that.

The fact that you and you didn't like me and you didn't like my clients, I said, We were trying a criminal anti-trust case.

I said to my client, I said, we'd better win this case.

I said, If we don't, the judge will not only send you to the penitentiary, but actually a possible me also.

Did you in?

I did, yeah.

You look good.

Bad.

Now, how did the Carnegies and the Rockefellers ever track you down?

Well, it's an interesting story.

It's very simple.

The case was referred to me by a gentleman whose name would be would mean something to you by Abe Fortas.

Abe Fortas there on the Supreme Court.

United States Supreme Court.

And his firm had represented the Rockefellers, Andrew Carnegie.

And he suggested that they might want to contact me.

And they did.

And we tried the case and hit them pretty bad.

And we had a number, John and Bob in Cumberland Island, eminent eminent domain cases.

It was a very fascinating case.

But what was most fascinating about that case is that you were able to turn a case that really was about rich people getting their way and making it more of a common person issue.

Well.

That's right.

To the jury.

And that case consisted of people who the highest wage earner, all the jurors in the federal court in Brunswick, the highest wage earner, was a truck driver who was the foreperson of the jury.

And I had old man James Stillman Rockefeller, who was sitting on my left.

He was about my age then, delightful old man.

And he was the chairman of the board of Citicorp biggest bank in the world at that time in New York.

And my whole theory about the case and my argument to the jury, I said, Mr. Rockefeller tells me that he doesn't didn't think that he could get a fair trial in Brunswick, that he was a Rockefeller, and it just wouldn't work.

Actually, if you can if a Rockefeller can't get a fair trial, you folks are in bad shape.

You can't get a fair trial.

It's a very simple thing.

From the Carnegies and the Rockefellers to moonshiners and bootleggers in rural Georgia.

Bobby Lee Cook has experienced a wide range of cases and clientele.

But no matter who his clients may be or what the charges are against them, he has made a point of being a symbol of justice and due process.

For each defendant he has represented.

And through it all, his compassion for people and his commitment to hard work have remained unwavering.

Is it true out of 300 murder trials or criminal cases, only 30 of the people you have defended have gone to jail?

That's right.

I don't want to brag about.

How brag about it.

That's quite a record.

Well, that's right.

What's your secret?

Well, I don't have any secret.

I don't ever shake.

Is there a mantra you live by, though?

Is there something when you go when you take on a case, when you go to trial, that you keep in your head, that there's a there's there's some, you know, something that resonates with you when you go in and do these things?

Well, I do the very best that I can.

And obviously, when I'm troubled, when one is trying a murder case, you know, the chips are down.

You're talking about a conviction.

Either if it's a death penalty case, that's one thing or life imprisonment.

Nothing can be any more serious than that.

How important is it to you to talk to future lawyers?

Well, I think it's very important, you know, and I do that.

I do that periodically.

I get calls from lawyers all over the state and out of the state that want to come by.

And always except I'm delighted to see you.

And I need to speak with them.

And I still have speaking engagements across the country to the Bar Association Law schools.

I know I have actually spoken to probably 50 law schools throughout the country.

What advice do you give them?

Work hard, you know, play it straight.

Very simple advice.

Look at your client.

Be loyal.

Bear compassion, understanding.

Do you think you'll ever retire?

I don't think so.

I don't think so.

Of course I'm.

You didn't ask this question, but I'm 84 years old and I have enough cases now where it would take me five years, you know, just to close and close them out.

I don't think so.

With such a full and lengthy career.

It is impossible to pinpoint just one case that has been Bobby Lee Cook's most important.

Instead, taking a walk around the lobby of his law office can give some indication of the impact that he has made in the lives of thousands of clients throughout the years.

I love looking in the lobby of your offices because it's like the wall of fame, you know, between the pictures of dignitaries or Supreme Court justices.

But what I also love are these sketches now.

Now, what are what is this from in particular?

This is an interesting sketch of a very fascinating and famous trial, the Banco National Lavoro, the Italian bank case.

I represented a man with a game of Christopher Drew Gould, who was the manager of the Italian bank in Atlanta, where they had a branch.

The branch of that bank had loaned Saddam Hussein's government $5 billion and in violation of the banking regulations and banking laws of the country.

But it was determined and we proved and the trial of that case that the CIA and the government of the United States had covertly participated with the bank and had said that it was perfectly all right, not only all right for him to do it, but we were helping Saddam Hussein's government at that time, helping fund them and the war with Iran.

When you look back, is it possible for you to even pinpoint what has been your most successful or proudest case?

I don't know that that's a very difficult question, but one of my finest cases that I'm the proudest of is one that occurred year before last.

It was finished year before last.

We recovered about three quarters of $1,000,000,000, about $750 million for 19,000.

Retired Georgia schoolteachers who had been systematically deprived of a great deal of their retirement identity by the teacher retirement system.

And we helped 19,000 elderly people, many of whom were older than myself, that made their life much better.

So in the end, what what's the one legacy you hope to leave?

I hope that I can be remembered as a good lawyer.

You can ride up the road, you know, the highway or from here to Atlanta, and you'll see where it says John Jones Parkway.

Without being critical of John Jones Parkway.

I hope I can do.

Better than that.