Bad Goldberg

Our old friend Randolph Goldberg is back in hot water; he's being sanctioned, yet again, by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Bruce A. Markell.

This time the allegation is that Goldberg (or a member of his staff) impersonated clients and completed an online credit counseling program on their behalf. Goldberg then filed a Chapter 13 petition for the clients, attaching the "forged" certificates as proof of their completion of the program.

BAM did not take kindly to these antics; the judge has referred Goldberg's case to the U.S. attorney for possible criminal prosecution for forgery, and to the State Bar for a stern talking to and the possibility of wrist-slappery.

The State Bar has ten complaints currently pending against Randy G. His response to JAM's request for comment appears to be consistent with his level of legal prowess:

Asked for comment for this column, Goldberg, in five rambling e-mails, wrote he might appeal Markell's ruling, calling it "biased and with no fact but his gut and hatred for me."

(LVRJ - Jane Ann Morrison; Thanks Tipsters!)

Markell and Jones Disagree Over What Constitutes "Misconduct"

We've previously noted Bankruptcy Judge Bruce A. Markell's tendency not to take any shit to be a bit harsh on attorneys who run afoul of him. But it seems that at least one Judge thinks BAM may be going a bit far with his rulings.

Jane Ann Morrison had an interesting column yesterday about Markell being overruled by U.S. District Court Judge Clive Jones. The ruling was regarding Markell's sanctioning of attorney Neil Beller. Morrison reports:

Markell was harsh in his evaluation, writing Beller "discredits the work of all attorneys before this court and in the state of Nevada by calling into question whether attorneys will faithfully and loyally serve the interests of their clients." Markell disciplined the longtime Las Vegas attorney, saying Beller represented two opposing parties in the same bankruptcy case without obtaining the consent of the clients.

Beller appealed the reprimand, and U.S. District Judge Clive Jones looked at the same facts and said Beller's conduct "constitutes a mere professional courtesy and in no way, actual or potential, threatened harm to any represented party." Beller didn't violate Nevada Rules of Professional Conduct or breach his duty. In fact, Jones didn't see in his four-page opinion issued Sept. 3 that Beller did anything wrong.

Oh, Jones, you 'ole softy ... let Markell have his fun. Morrison notes that BAM has another appeal of a sanctioning he handed down to Henderson law firm Harris Merritt Chapman pending before the Ninth Circuit. We hope this doesn't stifle his ability to write those great bench-slapping Orders.

(LVRJ)

BAM! Down ... Goes ... Goldberg!

[We apologize to our original tipster who emailed us a copy of this opinion quite a while back. We were recently reminded about the story by another tipster.]

As we have previously noted on WWL, bankruptcy judge Bruce A. Markell does not take kindly to the antics of attorneys. There is, perhaps, no better illustration of this than BAM's (fairly) recent sanctioning of local bankruptcy pin-up boy, Randolph H. Goldberg (whose website strangely links to his DEX yellow pages ad, and if you click on his advertisement in the bottom corner you get the bonus of a 1990's era Glamour Shot photo of him).

BankruptcyProfBlog has a decent summary of the opinion, and it's quite a doozy. The facts are a bit convoluted, but apparently Goldberg was being a naughty boy and filed multiple Chapter 13 petitions for a single debtor (hey, extra fees, who can blame him?).

BAM, however, had none of it. He dropped the hammer on Goldberg and handed down the following sanctions:

• Goldberg received a public reprimand for his conduct in the form of the publication of the opinion of these cases in the West Reporter system, and in any other reporter system generally publishing bankruptcy court opinions.
• Goldberg had to return all fees charged to his client.
• Goldberg was directed to submit a copy of the opinion of this case with every fee application he submits in this district for work done during the two-year period following the date of entry of this opinion. During such period, he was also directed to deliver a copy of the opinion to each client that he files a bankruptcy petition for, once his aggregate billings for that client, for any one case or related matters, exceed $5,000.
• For the two-year period following the date of entry of the opinion of this case, should Goldberg be served with a motion or an order to show cause that seeks, as relief, sanctions for his conduct in a case or proceeding in this court, or in any other state or federal court in Nevada, he shall deliver a copy of the opinion to the person or entity serving him with such motion or order, and shall include a copy of such opinion in any response to such motion or order that is filed with the court.
• To the extent that the client still desired his discharge, Goldberg should pay all costs and expenses, including attorneys' fees, as may be necessary for the client to obtain his discharge.
  

Ouch! We're curious to know if Goldberg is actually abiding by these sanctions. Does anyone know if he is handing out copies of this opinion to clients, or has his maximum charge for any client changed to $4,999.99?

(BankruptcyProfBlog; Thanks Tipsters!)

The Enforcer goes easy on retiree [and does not hand out condoms]

Certain Judges have temperaments/personalities that make them stand out from the rest of their fellow judiciary members. Take Judge Bruce Markell for example.

The legend of Judge Markell's intimidating style has only grown since he was appointed to the bench in 2004. Among members of the Bankruptcy bar, Judge Markel is known for his sharp questions and his tendency to cut off counsel if he doesn't like the direction oral argument is headed. He is also considered to be a fierce enforcer of procedural rules and is even rumored to have once sanctioned an attorney to take a bankruptcy class at Boyd School of Law.

Given Judge Markell's enforcer reputation, WWL was eagerly anticipating the judge's hearing this morning in the USA Capital bankruptcy case. A Boulder City retiree appeared at a hearing this morning to answer for why he referred in pleadings to the Bankruptcy Court as a "brothel," called Bankruptcy Judge Linda Riegle a "madam" and said the judge "pays the working girls and provides the condoms." (RJ)

Turns out, Judge Markell can be a big softy. We here at WWL were expecting the judge to jail the retiree, order a public flogging or order the man to write an apology letter to every member of the bankruptcy bar. Nope. Judge Markell didn't even refer the man for criminal contempt of court. (RJ) Not sure what's got the judge in such a forgiving mood today, but we want our enforcer back.

Thursday Roundup

Sheldon Adelson is in the bullseye again: U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Bruce Markell has instructed the Nevada Gaming Control Board to show him behind closed doors the entire investigative report it did on Sheldon Adelson in 1989.  (Las Vegas Sun)

Oh and the Las Vegas Business Press decided to have a lawyer profile issue, profiling the gaming law work of Anthony Cabot, trial attorney work of Don Campbell, the government affairs work of Jim Wadhams, the employment law work of Mark Riccardi, the Entertainment law and IP work of Mark Tratos and the Business Reorganization work of Brett Axlerod [who in my opinion missed her calling as a rock star with that last name].