THE SIMPSON TREATY

Christoper Darden and Johnnie Cochran, Jr. were together again before the cameras, but on Monday night, the two attorneys were singing sweet harmony. Honored by about 500 African-Americans in Los Angeles at a lavish party that some had billed as Darden's welcome back into the black community, Darden said that he had never left: "I did the job I was required to do." Cochran, who successfully tagged Darden with the burden of defending rogue cop Mark Fuhrman during the Simpson trial, told the group he came to respect Darden for his "courage and integrity" during their long months doing battle in the courtroom. Darden is on a leave of absence from the District Attorney's Office and plans to teach law.