Big Law, Small Ethics: The Jesse Hockenbury Shakedown

A Northern Kentucky Council member and a staff attorney at a "white shoe" law firm like BakerHostetler getting pinched for sexual abuse? You’d think that would be front-page news. But in the land of pansy-ass local media and corporate protection rackets, the silence is deafening.

Jesse Hockenbury, a 32-year-old Highland Heights councilman, is the latest example of why this entire system needs to be flushed like the waste it is. He’s accused of unwanted sexual conduct with a client. And we aren't talking about a "misunderstanding." The reports hitting the desk for the Xquire show Hockenbury was arrested after a probe into allegations that he inappropriately touched the genitals of a client without her consent.

He was bagged at his home—where he lives alone—booked into the Campbell County Jail, and naturally, he made bail faster than a Madoff check clears.

The BakerHostetler Shield

Here is the real shit: Hockenbury isn't just some local ambulance chaser. He’s a staff attorney at BakerHostetler—a firm with a national footprint and a massive Cincinnati ego. He was brought on specifically for the liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC.

For those of you not in the "Big Law" loop, a "Staff Attorney" is the firm's version of a mercenary. You aren't on the partner track, you don’t bring in "matters" (clients), you don’t operate on your own for independent clients and you’re usually kicked to the curb the second the specific case you were hired for dries up.

This brings up a massive red flag: If he doesn't bring in clients, what the hell was he doing with this "client"? It’s highly unlikely she was sitting in a mahogany-row office at BakerHostetler. Which means this happened on the fringes, and Hockenbury thought his title and his seat on the Highland Heights council gave him a "get out of jail free" card to treat people like property.

The Media Cowards

Why hasn't the Cincinnati media mentioned BakerHostetler by name? Because they’re fucking terrified. They’re scared of a litigation threat from a powerhouse firm. It takes balls to name the beast, and local news outlets lost theirs years ago.

Think about the timeline: The arrest happened within 48 hours of the investigation. In the legal world, involving a sitting politician and a Big Law attorney, police don't move that fast unless they are rocking serious additional evidence. They have more than just a statement; they have the goods.

Hockenbury is still listed on the firm’s website as of this writing. They’re probably scrub-brushing the servers as we speak, trying to pretend he never existed.

We’re tracking this one to the end. In our world, you can’t brush it under the rug.