Courts

Former District Judge Leaves An Attorney A Scathing Review As His Swan Song

Maybe going pro se isn't always the worst option?

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frustrated judgeAs stressful as it can be to represent a client in court, one mantra has calmed many a heart standing before the judge: I’ll be able to breathe once this is over with. The promise of a future after this — a future after you raise your hands in victory or solemnly lick your wounds — can be all it takes to continue the craft of lawyering. But other times, confidence isn’t the issue. Occasionally, people just need to be better at their jobs. A lot better. From the ABA Journal:

A former federal judge in Illinois has referred a Chicago lawyer for potential discipline after declaring that she had “turned in the poorest performance by an attorney that the undersigned has seen during his 12-plus years on the bench.”

Good Lord! That’s one of those critiques that leads to restless nights no amount of “It will be better next time” can ease up on. And if that weren’t enough, it gets worse.

Then-U.S. District Judge Gary Feinerman of the Northern District of Illinois referred lawyer Calvita Frederick to the district court’s executive committee for potential discipline. He also tossed the discrimination case that she filed on behalf of Michael Outley against the city of Chicago as a sanction.

Feinerman issued his opinion before he left the bench at the end of the year. Latham & Watkins announced Thursday that he has joined the law firm as a partner, according to Reuters.

Feinerman said in his Dec. 30 opinion that Frederick’s conduct “went beyond clumsy lawyering.”

Now I can’t prove that this was the last bit of lawyering that caused former District Judge Feinerman to throw his hands up and decide to leave the judiciary for the firm life, but it is way funnier to read this fact pattern in that way. This finger wagging feels like something that would be directed at a pro se defendant making sovereign citizen arguments, not an attorney with more than 40 years of legal experience. Whatever happened can’t be that bad… right? Let’s see a quick rundown:

According to Feinerman, Frederick sought to file 20 evidence motions after the deadline had passed, failed to collaborate on a final pretrial order, made “a series of intemperate remarks” during a pretrial conference, and apparently failed to read a court order—leading her to wrongly think that all her opponents’ motions in limine had been granted

…

Just days before trial, Frederick sought to stay the proceedings for a ruling on an upcoming motion that included a request that Feinerman disqualify himself from the case.

“The motion’s object,” Feinerman wrote, “was to circumvent the court’s pretrial rulings without waiting to pursue an appeal.”

Okay. I can see how these cumulative events could leave a judge wanting in the “being a good lawyer” department. And in case you’re wondering — because I know you are, the series of intemperate remarks were, as the French say, butthole-related.

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“It amazes me how in this—in this jurisdiction—and I’m just venting here for a minute. In this jurisdiction, a judge can set a court case for a ruling and not be ready and kick it another two months, and that’s just fine; but if a—if a counsel needs a couple of extra weeks, it’s—they get ripped a new butthole, and their case is very close to dismissed.”

I’m of the opinion that you shouldn’t judge a person solely off a bad day. That said, when a thing happens multiple times… there’s probably something to it.

Feinerman noted that a federal judge had dismissed a case filed by Frederick in 2021 because of “delay and contumacious conduct.” A different federal judge awarded sanctions against Frederick for allegedly filing an amended complaint with baseless, false and misleading allegations, with the purpose of delay.

Feinerman said Rule 11 sanctions were justified because Frederick admitted that the barrage of motions that she filed before trial were intended to secure a delay. She also made false statements about an order by Feinerman and made frivolous arguments, Feinerman said.

“Attorney Frederick offered various explanations for her conduct, including health and family issues and lack of familiarity with the trial process (having never taken a case to trial),” Feinerman said. “Attorney Frederick has cited similar excuses for her conduct in other cases. … Making matters worse, attorney Frederick has demonstrated a penchant of baselessly accusing judges in this district of bias when things do not go her way. … Attorney Frederick argues that if she is removed or suspended from this court’s bar, she will be effectively driven out of business, to the detriment of clients.”

… At what point in Frederick’s legal education did a professor instruct them that you should just freely admit that the motions you submitted were intended to secure a delay?! Because there are two real options here. This screw-up was so royal that she is either on the cutting edge of some very innovative lawyering, or she may in fact be a long lost relative of Prince Charles. Considering that former Judge Feinerman wants her on the chopping block, I’m going to assume it isn’t the first one. Word to the wise — if you’re an aspiring attorney with an inspiration board that has Frederick on it, you may want to switch her out for Justice Bolden.

Lawyer ‘Turned In The Poorest Performance’ He Has Seen In 12 Years On Bench, Former Federal Judge Says [ABA Journal]

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Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s.  He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and by tweet at @WritesForRent.

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