June 08, 2007
Why you should listen to your attorney

You know how people who are involved in lawsuits are advised by their attorneys not to say anything about the case while the litigation is pending? This would be the reason why.


It was a Perry Mason moment updated for the Internet age.

As Ivy League-educated pediatrician Robert P. Lindeman sat on the stand in Suffolk Superior Court this month, defending himself in a malpractice suit involving the death of a 12-year-old patient, the opposing counsel startled him with a question.

Was Lindeman Flea?

Flea, jurors in the case didn't know, was the screen name for a blogger who had written often and at length about a trial remarkably similar to the one that was going on in the courtroom that day.

In his blog, Flea had ridiculed the plaintiff's case and the plaintiff's lawyer. He had revealed the defense strategy. He had accused members of the jury of dozing.

With the jury looking on in puzzlement, Lindeman admitted that he was, in fact, Flea.

The next morning, on May 15, he agreed to pay what members of Boston's tight-knit legal community describe as a substantial settlement -- case closed.


Let that be a lesson to us all. Thanks to Luke Gilman for the catch.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on June 08, 2007 to Legal matters
Comments

Sometimes you just can't fix stupid.

Posted by: boadicea on June 8, 2007 12:25 PM