A San Francisco plaintiffs' lawyer faces a three-year suspension from practicing law after he reportedly "repeatedly badgered, berated, screamed, yelled and/or raised his tone at witnesses and the court, despite court warnings, admonitions and orders not to do this."
The Recorder's Mike McKee writes that a California State Bar Court judge has recommended the three-year suspension as well as five years' probation for Philip Kay, who specialized in litigating sexual harassment suits.
Judge Lucy Armendariz also found that Kay had entered into an illegal fee-splitting agreement with other lawyers in a sexual harassment suit that resulted in a $3.5 million judgment in the early 1990s.
"But somewhere during his overzealous advocacy, he lost it," Armendariz wrote in Tuesday's ruling. "Not the cases, but his integrity, professional decorum, credibility and respect of the court."
During his State Bar Court trial, Kay defiantly engaged in the same kind of behavior that got him into trouble in the first place. He often refused to answer questions, accused the judge of a "railroad job" and demanded to be held in contempt.