Duane Morris partner praised by judge who accused her of smugness

Lida Rodriguez-Taseff was barred from practicing in the bankruptcy court of the Southern District of Florida by Judge John Olson for 90 days and was ordered to attend 30 hours of ethics training. He held her responsible for a mistaken filing and took offence at her sanctions brief in which a paralegal was blamed. He said at the time: 'The tone of Duane Morris’ pleading in this case reflects what I would conceive of as a self-satisfied smugness, full of self-congratulatory blather—all to the effect that the firm is a great corporate citizen who did nothing wrong in this case.'

Go and do good

However, Ms Rodriguez-Taseff has since given $500 to two groups, volunteered with legal groups, met with counsel on the other side to repair relations and gone to more than 30 hours of ethics training. Vacating the sanction, Judge Olson said that she had 'clearly' undertaken steps for rehabilitation and that she should 'go and do good' as an 'admirable person in the community'. Source: ABA