Goodkind

Apr 14, 2023

Above the Law Above The Law In your inbox Subscribe and get breaking news, commentary, and opinions on law firms, lawyers, law schools, lawsuits, judges, and more. We will never sell or share your information without your consent. See our privacy policy . Some days it's fun to be a court reporter. April 14, 2023 at 11:50 AM Shares8 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. Sponsored 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 . Sponsored Sign up and get the latest news in your inbox. Subscribe Now Recommended * Somehow the Clarence Thomas ethical morass got worse. [ ProPublica ] * Biglaw firms consider recapturing the magic of lockdown profits by severely curtailing travel for in-person meetings. Yeah, that’s what the clients want in 2023… firms to Zoom them to save $5K. [ American Lawyer ] * Liberals claim calls for Dianne Feinstein to resign are “sexist.” Which is exactly what the same liberals said about calls for Ruth Bader Ginsburg to resign and how did that work out for you? [ Bloomberg Law News ] * SCOTUS refuses to halt student debt settlement involving schools that the government characterized as functional diploma mills. Don’t worry, they’re still on track to strike down the student debt settlement that could help the most people. [ Reuters ] * Former client is “batshit crazy” says attorney. I don’t know about this specific client, but there’s a generalizable ring of truth to this. [ Law360 ] * DeSantis signs 6-week abortion law which, as political mistakes go, is right up there with “pissing off Disney.” [ AP ]