HappyMealGate: An Update on the Fry Guy
Earlier this month, we wrote about how William P. Smith -- a partner at McDermott Will & Emery (Chicago), and head of its bankruptcy department -- landed himself in the deep-fat fryer. Smith unwisely told a bankruptcy judge, in open court, that she was "a few French Fries short of a Happy Meal."
Well, Judge Laurel Myerson Isicoff didn't respond so well to that colorful statement. She issued a sua sponte Order to Show Cause, directing William Smith (hereinafter "the Fry Guy") to explain why he shouldn't be suspended from practicing in her court.
Several tipsters have directed our attention to this delightful article, from the Daily Business Review, about the Fry Guy's "super-sized gaffe." It describes the fallout, for both Smith and McDermott Will & Emery, from L'Affaire Happy Meal -- and includes a shout-out to Above the Law.
Excerpts and discussion, after the jump.
The article, by Daniel Ostrovsky for the Daily Business Review, begins:
Saying a bankruptcy judge was "a few french fries short of a Happy Meal" may cost an out-of-state lawyer the ability to practice in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida.The comment already has cost Chicago-based McDermott Will & Emery partner William P. Smith his client -- Miami Beach's Mount Sinai Medical Center & Miami Heart Institute.
Ouch. Well, congratulations to the commenters who presciently speculated that the Fry Guy might get fired by the client.
Here's our favorite part of the article:
Smith did not return calls for comment, and Mount Sinai spokeswoman Kathleen Dorkowski declined to comment on the case.Smith's comment and a show-cause order against him were first reported by the legal blog Above the Law.
Thanks for the shout-out, Mr. Ostrovsky! The MSM regularly "reports" things that previously appeared on ATL (like law firm salary news), but without any mention of this fine website. See, e.g., The Miami Herald; UPI. So we are always pleased and grateful on those occasions when we do receive attribution.
It seems that local lawyers are experiencing a bit of schadenfreude over the incident:
Prominent South Florida bankruptcy lawyers say Smith's comment reflects a superior attitude that out-of-town lawyers sometimes display in South Florida courts...."People come to the Miami and Fort Lauderdale courts, and they think that it's a second-class court system when they come from New York or Chicago or places like that," said Charles M. Tatelbaum, national chairman of the bankruptcy litigation and secured transaction practice at Adorno & Yoss in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. "I am pleased because it would have been a lot easier for [Judge Isicoff] to simply ignore it and do nothing, and this is the kind of person she is because she is going to say, 'I am not going to stand for that.'"
But is this chip on the proverbial shoulder warranted? From an ATL reader:
"The funniest part of this article is reading the quotes from the Miami lawyers who strike me as really strangely defensive about the big-city lawyers who come down to Miami with an attitude. We're talking about Miami here, the 7th largest metro area in the U.S."
The article also discusses Judge Laurel Myerson Isicoff, who is -- as noted by several commenters, and reflected in the photo at right -- something of a judicial hottie.
Isicoff was sworn in as the district's first woman bankruptcy judge in February 2006. She graduated from the University of Miami School of Law in 1982 and spent 14 years as partner at Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton in Coral Gables, Fla.In interviews, South Florida bankruptcy lawyers praised her judicial abilities and her decision to hold Smith accountable for his words. The lawyers said Smith's comment showed disrespect for the judge and the district.
Tatelbaum said the bankruptcy bar backed Isicoff's appointment to the bench and described her as a "no-nonsense person" and a "super lawyer" with a "very good sense of humor."
Prominent bankruptcy attorney Paul S. Singerman, co-chief executive officer of Berger Singerman in Miami, said Isicoff is an "even-tempered, polite and patient" judge.
And of course we loved this quote, a disavowal of "judicial diva" status for Judge Isicoff:
Mindy Mora, a partner in the bankruptcy group of Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod in Miami, said she was shocked when she learned [the Fry Guy] was an experienced head of a practice group at a top national firm."She's not temperamental, she is not a diva, she is not any of the things that I have seen written about her in the blogs," Mora said of Isicoff.
Sigh. When are people going to realize that being a diva is a GOOD thing? Here at ATL, we're waging a one-man campaign to turn the "diva" moniker into a badge of honor. It's been a lonely fight thus far.
We've reproduced and discussed mere excerpts from the Daily Business Review piece. You can read Dan Ostrovsky's entire article, which is both informative and amusing, by clicking here. Fun stuff!
P.S. We owe the "Fry Guy" reference to an anonymous reader, who also quipped: "If only the case involved burglary as well... You could toss in a Hamburglar reference. Robble robble!!!"
Lawyer's 'Super-Size' Gaffe Costs Him Client and Possibly Right to Practice Before Fla. Court [Daily Business Review]
Judge has a beef; lawyer faces grilling [Miami Herald]
Law Alumna Laurel Isicoff (JD'82) is first woman named to the Bankruptcy Court for Florida's Southern District [University of Miami School of Law]
Earlier: ATL Practice Pointers: Don't Insult the Judge in Open Court
Comments
"When are people going to realize that being a diva is a GOOD thing? Here at ATL, we're waging a one-man campaign to turn the "diva" moniker into a badge of honor. It's been a lonely fight thus far."
It's a stupid fight. Being a diva may be a compliment in some contexts, but it's an insult to a judge.
A female judge might be receptive to praise for being confident or assertive.
Being called a "diva" comes with lots of baggage in addition to those things. It implies that one is selfish, self-absorbed, capricious, temperamental and--when one is a judge--something of a bully.
It also implies that one views one's profession as being about putting on a performance, which is apparently what ATL thinks judges should be about, but I doubt that any self-respecting judge would agree.
Posted by: Anonymous | May 31, 2007 11:40 AM
Well, it might help if "diva" didn't include "Monica Goodling." Monica cries, she talks like a little girl, and she looks like I used to when I would shed my school clothes in favor of my actress mother's stage wigs and prance around in front of the mirror with my bits and pieces tucked between my legs.
Posted by: Anon | May 31, 2007 11:49 AM
how many flamingly homosexual, temperamentally catty, ex-wachtel/former prosecutor, current bloggers are there out there? just one? okay, great. no one needs to worry about anyone caring why or how Lat thinks the "diva" renaissance is upon us.
Posted by: anon | May 31, 2007 11:53 AM
um, duh. miami is a second-tier legal market with a second-class court system. accept and embrace, Mr. Tatelbaum.
Posted by: Anonymous | May 31, 2007 11:56 AM
When will clients learn - don't send a big firm lawyer from another city to be your front man before a local Judge. Even if the out-of-town attorney doesn't intend to be arrogant, they come accross that way because it sends the arrogant message that one of the local firms is not good enough to practice before their own local Judges.
Posted by: anon | May 31, 2007 12:11 PM
When will clients learn - don't send a big firm lawyer from another city to be your front man before a local Judge. Even if the out-of-town attorney doesn't intend to be arrogant, they come accross that way because it sends the arrogant message that one of the local firms is not good enough to practice before their own local Judges. It is likely that a local attorney with a history before the Judge would have gotten away with such a comment.
Posted by: anon | May 31, 2007 12:13 PM
When will clients learn - don't send a big firm lawyer from another city to be your front man before a local Judge. Even if the out-of-town attorney doesn't intend to be arrogant, they come accross that way because it sends the arrogant message that one of the local firms is not good enough to practice before their own local Judges. It is likely that a local attorney with a history before the Judge would have gotten away with such a comment.
Posted by: anon | May 31, 2007 12:13 PM
12:11, even if you did post 3 times, you're absolutely right. And this gives me great pleasure, because it means that Conrad Black is going DOWN.
Posted by: anon | May 31, 2007 12:20 PM
amen to that, anon. A Manhattanite can't even get respeck from a Staten Island judge.
Posted by: checkpoint charlie | May 31, 2007 01:07 PM
amen to that, anon. A Manhattanite can't even get respeck from a Staten Island judge.
Posted by: checkpoint charlie | May 31, 2007 01:10 PM
11:53: LMAO. Diva renaissance, priceless...
Posted by: Anonymous | May 31, 2007 01:19 PM
typical comment from a fourth tier grad like smith
Posted by: anon | May 31, 2007 01:25 PM
Hey Lat-
You should have a posting area for tips, instead of taking them by email only.
Alas, I am forced to submit my tip off-topic here.
The deadly-TB-strain guy is a lawyer, and he's kinda cute, typical.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/31/health/main2869316.shtml
Posted by: cover this guy | May 31, 2007 01:29 PM
Refresh your browser, Lat posted on that 20 minutes ago:
http://www.abovethelaw.com/2007/05/lawyer_of_the_day_andrew_speak.php
Posted by: Anonymous | May 31, 2007 01:37 PM
if I remember correctly, didn't he say the argument was a "few fries short"? Not the judge herself?
Posted by: Wait | May 31, 2007 01:39 PM
Refresh your browser, Lat posted on that 20 minutes ago:
http://www.abovethelaw.com/2007/05/lawyer_of_the_day_andrew_speak.php
Posted by: Anonymous | May 31, 2007 01:40 PM
if I remember correctly, didn't he say the argument was a "few fries short"? Not the judge herself?
Posted by: Wait | May 31, 2007 01:42 PM
From the article:
"Smith, who heads the national bankruptcy practice at McDermott, has retained the Miami bankruptcy boutique Genovese Joblove & Battista to represent him before Isicoff on the show-cause order set for hearing June 25."
HAHA. Out of town asshole now has to retain local boys to help him bow and scrape before the judge. Loser.
Posted by: Anonymous | May 31, 2007 02:41 PM
Lat,
Jesus Christ, get yourself a new host already. Dealbreaker.com sucks:
Internal Server Error
The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request.
Please contact the server administrator, webmaster@dealbreaker.com and inform them of the time the error occurred, and anything you might have done that may have caused the error.
More information about this error may be available in the server error log.
Posted by: 2:41 | May 31, 2007 02:54 PM
Dealbreaker.com owns AboveTheLaw.com (and employs Lat). So I don't think Lat will be switching hosts anytime soon.
Posted by: Anonymous | May 31, 2007 03:07 PM
Heh, well, I hope their paychecks are more reliable than their comment server...
Posted by: 2:41 | May 31, 2007 03:14 PM
Conrad has local counsel i.e., Eddie Genson, and Greenspan is kicking Sussman's can all over the place.
Posted by: Aboot | May 31, 2007 06:01 PM
The official transcript reads:
"I suggest to you with respect, Your Honor, that you're a few french fries short of a Happy Meal in terms of what's likely to take place."
I'm afraid that the "you're" makes it very unlikely that he was talking about anything other than the judge. At least it was just a suggestion, and one with respect.
Posted by: David Schwartz | May 31, 2007 06:59 PM
The official transcript reads:
"I suggest to you with respect, Your Honor, that you're a few french fries short of a Happy Meal in terms of what's likely to take place."
I'm afraid that the "you're" makes it very unlikely that he was talking about anything other than the judge. At least it was just a suggestion, and one with respect.
Oddly, the motion to show cause is missing the words "to you". Go figure.
Posted by: David Schwartz | May 31, 2007 07:01 PM
The quotes from the Miami lawyers sound a lot like things you hear Phoenix lawyers saying about hired guns who pro hac from L.A. who come over here and think that just because they're total assholes that they're somehow better lawyers. Are we defensive? Heck yes, but that's because the whole culture here is pretty easygoing and we like it this way. It only takes a few assholes to infect the group. I'll admit that it's somewhat of a legal backwater over here, but at least the low salaries are more than made up for with low cost of living.
Posted by: AzLawyer | May 31, 2007 11:40 PM
Wait until Trump shows up, 6:01. This is not over by any means.
Posted by: anon | June 1, 2007 12:59 PM
Sheesh! Arrogant lawyer; arrogant client. Client purchased a very small claim to gain standing to carry out anti-competitive actions. Judge Isikoff caught them with their hands in the cookie jar, and their lawyer was so arrogant that he forgot that she controls "what is going to happen." As for the comment, I am a local lawyer, and I would be extremely reluctant to quote to her that she is considered "somewhat of a judicial hottie" even though I am in total agreement. There are some things you simply don't say to a judge, even if you are from Chicago or New York.
Posted by: Doug Johnson | June 23, 2007 03:35 PM