A Chicago lawyer says his opponent in a small claims case is using an unfair tactic by sitting a buxom paralegal next to him at counsel’s table.
Attorney Thomas Gooch says the woman’s sole purpose “is to draw the attention of the jury away from the relevant proceedings”.
This case involves a dispute over a used car. Attorney Gooch has asked Cook County Circuit Judge Anita Rivkin-Carothers to order the paralegal to sit in the gallery with other spectators.
“Personally, I like large breasts,” he said. “However, I object to somebody I don’t think is a qualified paralegal sitting at the counsel table ā when there’s already two lawyers there ā dressed in such a fashion as to call attention to herself.”
Sec. 1.35. Paralegal. “Paralegal” means a person who is qualified through education, training, or work experience and is employed by a lawyer, law office, governmental agency, or other entity to work under the direction of an attorney in a capacity that involves the performance of substantive legal work that usually requires a sufficient knowledge of legal concepts and would be performed by the attorney in the absence of the paralegal. A reference in an Act to attorney fees includes paralegal fees, recoverable at market rates.
“That’s not a qualification,” Gooch said. “That means Dmitry handed up a bill to a judge that said paralegal on it. I don’t believe it’s a legitimate thing. It’s a sham.”