Ex-BigLaw partner accused of 'shaking his behind' at opposing counsel escapes sanction
A federal judge in Houston has ruled that there is no need to sanction a former BigLaw lawyer after a motion accusing him of “shaking his behind” at a mediation went viral.
U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal noted that the facts are in dispute about what happened and who is to blame. In any event, she said in her May 4 order, lawyer Dennis Duffy’s reputation has already taken a hit, and that made sanctions unnecessary.
Duffy was a partner at BakerHostetler when the sanctions motion was filed in February. He now works at Kane Russell Coleman & Logan, Law360 reports. He no longer represents the Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. in the discrimination case filed against it.
Rosenthal began her opinion this way: “One of the sentences a judge does not imagine—much less welcome—writing includes the words ‘butt shaking’ in describing a lawyer’s alleged actions at a mediation. Sadly, those words fit here.
You can read the whole story online in the ABA Journal
