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Attorneys aren’t immune to some colorful language, but generally it doesn’t work its way into their testimony from the stand.
Law360 recounts the opening testimony in an ongoing defamation case between a tax partner’s widow and the deceased’s former law partner. The widow accused her husband’s partner of swindling her out of insurance proceeds when the partner collected on a “key man” policy in exchange for signing over his interest in the small firm as he moved on to Bilzin Sumberg. The court already ruled in favor of the partner on that score and now the trial turns to the statements the widow made over the course of the dispute.
Enter Brian Goodkind of Goodkind & Florio PA, who took the stand to testify about his former client, widow Sharon Dresser. Goodkind had worked with her in selling the remaining assets of the original firm to Bilzin.
“I received this letter, and I understood her to be threatening me, that I needed to work with her new lawyer to undo the deal or she was going to come after me and make sure it was a very public battle that would hurt my law firm and my reputation,” said Goodkind, who later added that he told Dresser’s attorneys he would not cooperate with them on his testimony because Dresser was “batshit crazy.”
Tell the jury how you really feel.
What are the odds Michael Cohen says something similar when that case goes to trial?
Atty Calls Ex-Client ‘Batshit Crazy’ At Start Of Defamation Trial [Law360]
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.
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