The bankruptcy section head at Chicago-based McDermott Will & Emery found himself at the center of a major dispute after he told the U.S. Bankruptcy Judge in Miami that she was "a few french fries short of a Happy Meal." Since making the comment, he has lost his sizable client and has been order to appear before the Court to determine why he should not be barred from practice in that Court.
The local Miami bankruptcy bar has raised their voices in support of the Judge, saying that she is a good fair judge and that the "out of town lawyers" have a superior and arrogant attitude which is reflective in the attorney's comments to the Judge. "In interviews, South Florida bankruptcy lawyers praised her judicial abilities and her decision to hold Smith accountable for his words. The lawyers said Smith's comment showed disrespect for the judge and the district.
"People come to the Miami and Fort Lauderdale courts, and they think that it's a second-class court system when they come from New York or Chicago or places like that," said Charles M. Tatelbaum, national chairman of the bankruptcy litigation and secured transaction practice at Adorno & Yoss in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. "I am pleased because it would have been a lot easier for her to simply ignore it and do nothing, and this is the kind of person she is because she is going to say, 'I am not going to stand for that.'"

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Mike