US District Judge Carl Barbier did not name the law firm involved but the brief involved appears to have been submitted under the electronic signature of a lawyer at Kirkland & Ellis. The lawyer is Chicago-based partner J Andrew Langan, cited as being ‘simply a supersmart lawyer’ in a testimonial on his profile page at the firm.
Policing simple rules
But Judge Barbier said that the brief violated a 35-page limit on such submissions by slightly reducing the space between lines. The judge said that the ruse added about six pages to the brief. He wrote: ‘The court should not have to waste its time policing such simple rules—particularly in a case as massive and complex as this. Counsel are expected to follow the court’s orders both in letter and in spirit. The court should not have to resort to imposing character limits, etc., to ensure compliance. Counsel’s tactic would not be appropriate for a college term paper. It certainly is not appropriate here. Any future briefs using similar tactics will be struck.’ Source: ABA Journal
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