‘Picking the Right Word’: Troutman Pepper Locke’s Paul Coggins Talks Trials, Fiction Writing

Paul Coggins has sent notorious criminals to prison and defended high-profile clients accused of breaking the law, yet he begins his mornings by writing for several hours about a fictional lawyer who has endured a more perilous path: a wrongful conviction, a cartel bounty and a surgically altered face.

For Coggins, a former U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Texas and now a partner at Troutman Pepper Locke, the courtroom and the thriller novel draw on the same skills — understanding people, identifying the telling detail and clarifying a complex story.