U.S. Attorney Candidate Zach Fardon: Good Looks, Killer Legal Chops, Humility Like ‘New Pope’
From the Chicago Sun-Times
It was one of the last weeks in the trial of former Gov. George Ryan, and the defense was feeling great.
On its witness list was an interim U.S. attorney from another district whose testimony threatened to put the prosecution’s credibility on the line.
“We’ve got the case now,” defense lawyer Dan Webb said at the time, according to Ed Genson, who was also part of the defense trial team. “He really thought he had the government on that one.”
Enter Zach Fardon.
In one of the more dramatic exchanges of the trial, Fardon, then an assistant U.S. attorney, methodically tore apart witness Ed McNally.
“He destroyed him,” said Genson, who represented Ryan codefendant Larry Warner. “When Fardon got through with him, he looked like he wasn’t telling the truth. I regard that as the height of his ability. That was the best cross in the case.”
With his aw-shucks, boyish looks and humble demeanor, Fardon can be disarming.
But he’s a killer as a trial lawyer, and though he has a fiery side, he has a rare touch that keeps him from burning bridges, those who know him say.
It’s that combination that likely sets Fardon apart as he’s now seen as the lead candidate to take the reins at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago.
Read more in our daily News Update...
From the Chicago Sun-Times
It was one of the last weeks in the trial of former Gov. George Ryan, and the defense was feeling great.
On its witness list was an interim U.S. attorney from another district whose testimony threatened to put the prosecution’s credibility on the line.
“We’ve got the case now,” defense lawyer Dan Webb said at the time, according to Ed Genson, who was also part of the defense trial team. “He really thought he had the government on that one.”
Enter Zach Fardon.
In one of the more dramatic exchanges of the trial, Fardon, then an assistant U.S. attorney, methodically tore apart witness Ed McNally.
“He destroyed him,” said Genson, who represented Ryan codefendant Larry Warner. “When Fardon got through with him, he looked like he wasn’t telling the truth. I regard that as the height of his ability. That was the best cross in the case.”
With his aw-shucks, boyish looks and humble demeanor, Fardon can be disarming.
But he’s a killer as a trial lawyer, and though he has a fiery side, he has a rare touch that keeps him from burning bridges, those who know him say.
It’s that combination that likely sets Fardon apart as he’s now seen as the lead candidate to take the reins at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago.
Read more in our daily News Update...