Biglaw

Biglaw Attorney Benchslapped Over 'Hubris,' Told To Open Checkbook To Personally Pay

Benchslaps 'live forever on the Internet.'

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Benchslapped-01Oof, this has got to sting.

No one *likes* being benchslapped by a federal court, but getting called on the carpet for your “hubris and disregard of procedural rules” and ordered to “personally pay” opposing counsel costs? That’s… no bueno.

But that’s exactly what happened to Cooley attorney Jon Graves. Eastern District of Pennsylvania Judge Michael M. Baylson did not take kindly to Graves’s behavior in his representation of Medical Technology Associates in a case against former top executive Carl W. Rausch. Specifically, the judge was peeved over his filing of 61 pages of evidence, after discovery deadlines.

As reported by Law360:

Graves was ordered to “personally pay” the lawyer representing Rausch and his company for all the legal fees incurred following Graves’ decision in May to file “a 61-page ‘submission’ that included 7 pages of legal argument, citing testimony and documents, and ten exhibits.”

Discovery had already ended in the case. None of the filings were presented during depositions in the case and Rausch’s lawyer called the move a blatant attempt “to evade the page limits set by this court.”

And he’s also headed to extra CLE classes:

“The court orders Mr. Graves to attend six hours of continuing legal education courses on the subject of federal practice and procedure, to be completed within six months of this decision,” Judge Baylson added in his ruling on the matter. Graves would have to submit “certificates of attendance for each course, to include the name of the course, sponsoring organization(s), date of attendance, and length.”

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And the the judge reminded Graves there’re more consequences he can dish out, noting, “Furthermore, Mr. Graves is reminded that appearing pro hac vice is a privilege.” And even though Graves’s client has “filed for bankruptcy,” that “does not prevent this court from imposing sanctions for prior conduct of counsel.”

In opposing any sanctions, Graves hired ethics expert Gregory P. Joseph, who wrote:

“In light of the damaging effects sanctions would have on a lawyer with no history of sanctionable conduct, in my opinion, to a reasonable degree of certainty, the court should decline to impose sanctions of any sort on him, his law firm, or his client,” Joseph had implored. “Sanctions of any sort imposed on a lawyer are devastating. They live forever on the Internet.”

Awww, that sure feels like an Above the Law shout-out.

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Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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