…the law firm representing him will sue. Him, that is. Their client. After firing him.
I.e., a lawyer isn’t going to fall on his sword and take a contempt charge from a judge if his client hasn’t turned over material the judge ordered him to turn over.
I was involved in a case with a similar cast. When a lawyer was spoken to harshly by a judge because his clients hadn’t turned over material they had access to, the lawyer apologized to the judge, thanked her for yelling at him–he intended to pass her disapproval along to his clients–but said: “I haven’t been able to reach them.” And shortly thereafter the lawyer filed a request to withdraw from the case.
Don’t lie to your lawyer. If he’s a respectable attorney, he won’t pass that lie along to the judge.
The Law Firm of Harry Issler, PLLC v. Kask, 654508/12E
- Supreme Court, New York County, Part 31
- Justice Laura Drager
Ex-Client’s Repeated Pattern of Noncompliance With Court-Ordered Disclosure Found Willful