(YANN COATSALIOU/AFP/Getty Images)
On our podcast, Thinking Like A Lawyer, we recently discussed when it is and is not acceptable to blame a lawyer for their clients. In a justice system that demands attorneys be willing to zealously represent everyone — especially the worst among us — to maintain its credibility, should lawyers be held accountable in the court of public opinion for their representations?
One name that came up during the conversation was Lisa Bloom. For those who don’t recall, the gild came off this particular Bloom back in 2017 when her own mother called her out for representing Harvey Weinstein against those accusing him of sexual assault. Bloom quit working for Weinstein as soon as it became public. At the time, we noted that this is precisely the sort of pressure that attorneys deserve to face. Unlike a run-of-the-mill defense attorney, Bloom posits herself as a defender of women victimized by sexual misconduct. When she crosses the line to represent Weinstein — for a reported $895/hour rate — it’s not so much that Weinstein doesn’t deserve representation as it’s a move that undermines Bloom’s credibility as an advocate to every other client and prospective client she hopes to work for. How does one trust opening up about painful experiences to a woman who is willing to represent a public figure accused of perpetrating the exact same misdeeds?
It turns out, Bloom’s representation of Weinstein may have been more involved and more troubling than first reported. A new book titled She Said, by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, brings together more detail than ever before on the Weinstein case. The New York Times took a look at the new book and in the process revealed some troubling details about Bloom’s work for Weinstein:
Allred’s daughter, the lawyer Lisa Bloom, a prominent victims’ rights attorney, was working behind the scenes with Mr. Weinstein — at a rate of $895 an hour — to quash the journalists’ investigation and thwart his accusers. In a confidential memo to Mr. Weinstein that Ms. Bloom wrote in December 2016, which is reproduced in “She Said,” she offered to help him damage the reputation of one of his accusers, Rose McGowan, and portrayed her background as a victims’s rights advocate as an asset.
“I feel equipped to help you against the Roses of the world, because I have represented so many of them,” Ms. Bloom wrote, before laying out a multistep playbook for how to intimidate accusers or paint them as liars. One of Ms. Bloom’s suggested tactics for undermining Ms. McGowan: “We can place an article re her becoming increasingly unglued, so that when someone Googles her this is what pops up and she’s discredited.”
One time where it’s entirely reasonable to rip an attorney for their work is when they cross the line from defending someone into… well, this stuff. Leveraging her career as an advocate for women to say she knows how to discredit someone? And let’s shine a light on: “Help you against the Roses of the world, because I have represented so many of them.” Is Bloom suggesting that she thinks McGowan is a liar and telling her clients that, by extension, she doesn’t believe them either? Or is she saying she believes McGowan but fully understands how to use extrajudicial means to deny her justice? It’s not entirely clear which of these interpretations is worse for Bloom.
Ms. Bloom accompanied Mr. Weinstein on a surprise visit to the Times the day before the initial article was published, to present the journalists with information intended to portray several accusers — including Ashley Judd, the first actress to go on the record — as unreliable and mentally unstable.
For her part, Bloom has branded her representation of Weinstein as a “mistake” and points out all the money she’s recovered for victims of others accused of sexual misconduct. But this doesn’t address the fundamental issue that Bloom’s clients want someone committed to their cause and she broadcast to the world that she’s ready to toss that commitment to the curb — and employ terroristic, scorched-earth tactics on the reputations of women when it suits her.
McGowan believes Bloom should be disbarred. Whether or not it rises to that level is another question. But whatever happens, as summer comes to a close, Bloom’s practice should definitely begin to shrivel up.
New Book Says Lisa Bloom Offered to Damage Rose McGowan’s Reputation to Help Harvey Weinstein [Jezebel]
Previously Unknown Sources Come Forward in a New Book About Harvey Weinstein [New York Times]
Earlier: Mother Knows Best: Gloria Allred Disses Daughter’s Decision To Rep Harvey Weinstein
When Are Lawyers To Blame For Their Clients
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.