By Chris Mondics, Philadelphia Inquirer
He’s one of a small band of criminal defense lawyers who have made careers representing high-profile clients who find themselves in the cross hairs of government prosecutors.
Brian McMonagle arguably has seen it all, at least in the legal profession.
His firm has represented rap singers, athletes, politicians and cops. He had a piece of the defense in prosecutions stemming from the investigation of former state Sen. Vincent Fumo. Before that, he won an acquittal of John Christmas, a former Philadelphia city hall official, in the federal probe of former Mayor John Street’s administration.
Now, Mr. McMonagle is representing Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua as the district attorney’s office seeks to question the former leader of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia about how he handled allegations of sexual abuse by priests. One of Cardinal Bevilacqua’s top assistants has been charged with endangerment in connection with priests being placed in positions where they were able to abuse young parishioners.
He also handled the defense of former Pennsylvania House Speaker John Perzel, who pleaded guilty Aug. 31 to charges of using taxpayer funds to finance computer programs to aid Republican election efforts.
Mr. McMonagle, who affects a smiling, friendly demeanor and who opposing lawyers say readily connects with juries, is not the type who specializes in learned briefs that only a law school professor could love. His metier is the careful cultivation of juries and the precision slicing and dicing of government witnesses on cross-examination. Mr. McMonagle said:
“I have always been fascinated by the idea of being a hired gun. It is how I would have defined myself, [but] I don’t know that I would define myself that way anymore. Somewhere along the line, you realize it is impossible to be one. You become emotionally invested. Hired guns don’t invest emotions.”
Those who have watched him try criminal cases say he’s effective.
“He is a very good trial lawyer, a little flamboyant and very effective with jurors,” said Michael Schwartz, a white-collar defense lawyer with Pepper Hamilton LLP who, in an earlier career as a federal prosecutor, supervised the corruption probe of the Street administration. “He is [very] good with dirty witnesses, mostly in non-white-collar cases.
“But if I need a 3rd Circuit brief, he is not the guy I am calling.”
As Mr. Schwartz’s remarks suggest, a divide exists in the criminal defense bar. There are the lawyers who handle the white-collar cases that turn on fine points of law and motive and where the alleged crimes are complex and sometimes open to interpretation.
Then there is Brian McMonagle’s world, where the alleged crimes can involve brute force or petty graft. The defense skill that matters most is establishing credibility with a jury and explaining the case in common sense terms that convey authority.
It also helps when a criminal defense lawyer has the skills to dismantle government witnesses. And while Mr. McMonagle is said to be very good at this, he sees it as less important than opening and closing statements.
As a young lawyer, he studied the great defense attorneys of the day, A. Charles Peruto Sr. among them, seeking to duplicate their skills. Cross-examining a witness with credibility problems is easy, Mr. McMonagle said. Examining witnesses with impeccable backgrounds truly tests a lawyer’s skill.
“Every time you walk into a courtroom, you have an opportunity to make a lasting impression on someone, and you want that person to think, ‘That was a lawyer.’ “
Mr. McMonagle began his career in the Philadelphia district attorney’s office in 1984 and quickly was thrown into criminal prosecutions. He decided moved to private practice when his wife, also an assistant district attorney, became pregnant, and he realized the family would need more income.
In 1995, he and others formed McMonagle, Perri, McHugh & Mischak PC. The firm specializes in criminal defense, personal injury, domestic relations and immigration cases, among other matters. Its website says Mr. McMonagle has won hundreds of acquittals.
Lawyers who practice in that space say it’s a tough business, although it can pay well. Defense lawyers often are overwhelmed; spending their days in court defending clients against government prosecutors. Then they return to their offices, where, if they are any good, a long line of clients or potential clients desperately needing their help is waiting.
“It’s a tough life,” said Philadelphia lawyer John Morris, who has practiced with Mr. McMonagle and has a high regard for his skills.
Yet, Mr. McMonagle said, he relishes it, even though he is sometimes asked how he can make a living representing clients accused of pretty horrible things.
“It goes back to that perception of criminal defense lawyers: that what they do is represent only the bad guys,” he said.
Clients charged with crimes “are not all bad,” he said. “When good people are charged with crimes they did not commit, then hopefully I will be there.”
Chris Mondics: 1-215-854-5957 or cmondics@phillynews.com.