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Meet the go-to lawyer for Chicago cops in trouble

Chicago lawyer Dan Herbert is in the spotlight for defending the cop who killed Laquan McDonald

Jason Van Dyke is back in court in Chicago on charges relating to the fatal 2014 shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. Van Dyke’s legal fight has become front-page news in Chicago, and has put his lawyer, Dan Herbert, in the spotlight.

Herbert is the go-to lawyer for cops accused of misconduct in Chicago — over 60 percent of Herbert’s clientele are cops.

Many see him as the defender of the bad guy. But Herbert, born into a family of Irish-American cops and a former policeman himself, sees himself as representing the underdog. VICE News’ Jay Caspian Kang went to Chicago to talk to the man now tasked with defending one of the city’s most hated men.

This segment originally aired March 23, 2017, on VICE News Tonight on HBO.