Three-year Suspension Recommended for High-profile San Francisco Lawyer
| Jurisdiction | California,United States |
| Citation | Vol. 01 No. 2010 Pg. 07 |
| Pages | 07 |
| Publication year | 2010 |
CBJ - January 2010 #07. Three-year suspension recommended for high-profile San Francisco lawyer
January 2010
In an unusually scathing opinion, a State Bar Court judge recommended that high profile San Francisco attorney Philip Kay be suspended for three years, citing his "rude and disrespectful conduct" during three trials as well as false accusations, frivolous motions and unrelenting bad behavior. The suspension will take effect if the Supreme Court signs off.
Kay, who is well-known for his successful sexual harassment lawsuits, including a 1994 case in which a legal secretary won a $6.9 million jury verdict against a Palo Alto attorney, was charged by the State Bar with 19 counts of misconduct.
Judge Lucy Armendariz found him guilty of 16 counts, including charges of misleading the court, improper contact with jurors, splitting fees with a non-lawyer and committing acts of moral turpitude. But she reserved her most caustic comments for what she called Kay's "insolent behavior."
"Somewhere during his overzealous advocacy, he lost it," Armendariz wrote in a 48-page ruling, ". . . not the cases, but his integrity, professional decorum, credibility and respect of the court."
Kay, 56, said during his lengthy trial last spring that he expected to be disbarred. In an e-mail message, he accused bar prosecutors of lying about what various courts had ruled in opinions and orders regarding the cases in question. The suspension was recommended because "I asserted constitutional and statutory rights of attorney client privilege and work product before answering questions," he added.
Most of the misconduct charges stemmed from two cases, a 1998 sexual harassment trial and 2002 retrial against Ralphs Grocery Stores and a sexual harassment trial against Ultrastar Cinemas in 2005. Kay's clients won jury verdicts of $30 million in the Ralphs litigation and nearly $7 million in the Ultrastar case.
But throughout both trials, Armendariz said, Kay made gratuitous comments and offensive statements, was disruptive, repeatedly asked identical, almost identical or inadmissible questions despite the court's warnings, and argued with the court. He was sarcastic or snide to witnesses, the judge said, badgering, berating or yelling at them. He made personal attacks on opposing counsel, including telling one jury...
To continue reading
Request your trial