Greetings, The Friday Whine is a casual email to friends and colleagues and contains two things: An ethics update, and a wine recommendation. If you see text in blue, it is a link to an article or information.
Editor’s Note:
A stunning morning to wake up to the news of the suicide of Anthony Bourdain, the guy who truly had the job everyone wanted – traveling the world solely for the purpose of finding great food and drink, and meeting interesting people. We also lost fashion icon Kate Spade, also to suicide.
Lawyers have the 4th highest rate of suicide. Watch out for your colleagues, and if someone needs help, please keep in mind the National Suicide Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255
Ethics
Mad Michael Cohen
First, let me apologize for the lack of a Whine last week. No need to get violent though. Sometimes emergencies come up and wine and ethics have to wait.
Anyway, speaking of violence, Michael Cohen, who has been reputed to be less of a lawyer and more of a “fixer” for Donald Trump, tried to scare a poor reporter out of reporting a story regarding some accusations regarding his first wife Ivanna. I love two things about this tape – 1. That Michael Cohen is too stupid and too angry to think that maybe he is being recorded, and 2. The way the reporter handled the threats, acting as if it was just another conversation.
Cohen’s conduct is unquestionably unethical, but I surmise there will be no Bar complaint (unless the New York Bar decides on its own to open a file, which is unlikely as they probably would rather await Cohen’s indictment rather than address this conversation).
Wine
The Summer Wine
For those of you in South Florida, yes, it just went from the low 80’s to 110 degrees, in a week. It’s hot, and time to stock up for summer.
How about doing something crazy, like drinking something you’ve never had?
Like Vermentino.
Guado al Tasso is a pretty famous red wine made by the Antinori family in Italy, where white wine is scarce. Vermentino is a white wine produced in Italy, and Antinori makes one under the Guado al Tasso name. It’s $22 at Total Wine.
Vermentino is a light-bodied white wine and perfect for summer. You can tell your friends that “only drink Chard” to get over it.