What are some of the wittiest or funniest exchanges/comments you’ve witnessed in a case/court/motion?
One that always stuck with me:
A lawyer was representing a debtor in bankruptcy court. Years earlier, in front of the same judge, he had represented a creditor and made a strong argument on conflict against the debtor.
Now, with very similar facts, opposing counsel used the lawyer’s own prior argument against his client. The judge looked at him and basically said: “Counsel, why should I change the law now, especially given what you argued before me previously?”
After a pause, the lawyer responded:
“I got smarter.”
another one was from the caesars palace trial record for venue:
So let me just start, your honor, to just describe how difficult it is to show up as a lawyer from kirkland before this court to advocate for a venue other than delaware.
"each case is on its own merits" the judge played along.
"yes indeed. And you have heard that were not a very popular debtor."
"I would say that’s true"
..(the Kirkland lawyer begins to list all the allegations of fiduciary breach and fraud that creditors made and says that none of them have anything to do with venue, it will be litigated regardless)
and the judge responds: I just cant get the leroy brown song out of my mind since you’ve been talking about being so bad.
last one:
(a lawyer explaining the caesars case)
being caught off guard from Jones Day launching a shot across the bow, with its eighty-one page complaint filed in Delaware, targeting all the major Caesars entities, David Sambur quickly emailed caesar's lawyers telling them to get their own lawsuit against creditors out right away. "Pls file asap. Don’t wait," he urged.
Though Sambur's more natural approach was sending a nasty email at all hours of the night, explaining how his opponents, sometimes addressed as "motherfuckers," would be vanquished.
(i believe all of this came out at trial or motion in the caesars case).