Lawyers Must Atone for Late Notice by Placing Signs in Courthouse Lobby

Lawyers Must Atone for Late Notice by Placing Signs in Courthouse Lobby

Did I ever miss a deadline? Yes. Yes. No. If someone did, would I object? No. Yes, I would, but it's not possible for me to take that position right now. If it does happen, let us know. Depending on how funny or embarrassing it is, I may even try that. We'll see. Law360 (sub. Law360 (sub. Although the hearing was originally scheduled for yesterday (4 April), ODP Corporation (Office Depot), requested that the hearing be postponed, claiming it had inadvertently failed inform interested parties about the time and location. The court grumbled that it was disappointing, but ultimately decided...

Did I ever miss a deadline? Yes. Yes. No. If someone did, would I object? No. Yes, I would, but it's not possible for me to take that position right now. If it does happen, let us know. Depending on how funny or embarrassing it is, I may even try that. We'll see. Law360 (sub. Law360 (sub. Although the hearing was originally scheduled for yesterday (4 April), ODP Corporation (Office Depot), requested that the hearing be postponed, claiming it had inadvertently failed inform interested parties about the time and location. The court grumbled that it was disappointing, but ultimately decided to reschedule. What if someone heard of the hearing and decided they wanted to attend, even though they were not aware of the postponement? The court acknowledged that there was a "risk" but they should not be prejudiced. It ordered the company to cover the travel expenses of any person who showed up and required two of its lawyers present at the courthouse to display signs to alert anyone in such a situation. One lawyer stood in the lobby at the Leonard L. Williams Justice Center in Wilmington with a sign that said: "Settlement Hearing for ODP Corporation: Please see Me." The second would be outside the elevators at the 12th floor where the relevant courtroom is located, holding a similar sign. The court letter stated that each lawyer would ask the person they see if they intend to attend the settlement hearing. "If they answer yes, the lawyer will inform the individual that the hearing was postponed and give the new information. "The lawyer will ask the person if they are stockholders and, if yes, take down their contact information so that expenses can be reimbursed." Although the court knew that there was a good chance that the lawyers would not comply with these requirements, it ordered them to report any findings. According to the report, two lawyers confirmed to the court that they would be present on Tuesday between 10 and 11:30. They were certainly there. However, I have not found any reports with pictures or confirmation that it happened. I also don't know if anyone was helped by the lawyer-borne signs. Although I would be willing to wager that photos exist, I was not surprised to see that the firm's news page doesn't mention this event. I also looked up the names of the two lawyers who were going to perform the sign duty. One of them was a partner. Credit is due to this person for not having an associate perform this duty. I am putting this in the "Creative Sentencing" category (among others) because it reminds me of other sign-holding/public-shaming requirements, but hasten to add that no crime or other charge was involved here, and we don't even know if the lawyers themselves were at all responsible for the late notice. This is difficult to overlook, even if it had a slightly punitive element. For example, it's not like you have to send personalized apologies and a photo of yourself in handcuffs to each judge. For one, it would take much longer than 90 minutes.