BigLaw patent lawyer faces possible sanction over petition filed with US Supreme Court
A Washington, D.C., lawyer is facing an unusual U.S. Supreme Court attorney discipline case over a petition he filed with the court in a patent case.
In a brief Monday order (PDF, scroll down), the court gives Foley & Lardner partner Howard Shipley 40 days to show cause why he should not be sanctioned, the Blog of Legal Times (sub. req.) reports.
The order does not explain what the problem is, but the BLT article points to two possible issues.
First, the question presented at the outset of the petition is lengthy, hard to understand and includes technical jargon.
Second, the petition credits a nonlawyer with doing a lot of work on the filing, contrary to what a court clerk’s guide on preparing supreme court petitions recommends.
Hat tip: Josh Blackman’s Blog.
