Saturday, January 7, 2012

Lawyer of the Day: Alleged Death Threats Put Attorney on Ice « Above the Law: A Legal Web Site – News, Commentary, and Opinions on Law Firms, Lawyers, Law School, Law Suits, Judges and Courts

Lawyer of the Day: Alleged Death Threats Put Attorney on Ice « Above the Law: A Legal Web Site – News, Commentary, and Opinions on Law Firms, Lawyers, Law School, Law Suits, Judges and Courts

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Here at Above the Law, we know a thing or two about how lawyers should deal with the police. Incidentally, we also know how lawyers should not deal with law enforcement officers. And if you truly value your job as an attorney, it’s best not to mouth off to the cops, or to threaten them in any way, shape, or form.

But Courtney King, a rather attractive attorney with Ice Miller , apparently didn’t get the memo. Last week, after allegedly downing a few too many shots of liquid courage, King got into a stand off with police that may have iced her nascent legal career….

Just before New Year’s Eve, King, a 30-year-old, 2010 graduate of the University of Louisville School of Law, returned to Kentucky. We may never know why King was at a bar in wee hours of the morning in the middle of the work week, but we do know that she will probably regret what happened for a long, long time. WDRB News reports the allegations:

Courtney R. King

Louisville Metro Police say they arrested a woman outside of Phoenix Hill Tavern who claimed to be a lawyer and verbally threatened police. …

According to the arrest report, King allegedly told police, “You are going to… die. I’m a lawyer. You can Google me. You are dead. I work at a law firm in Indianapolis.”

Alas, it seems like the only thing that died was King’s upward mobility in Biglaw. She was arrested and charged with alcohol intoxication, assault, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and terroristic threatening.

Here’s King in her mug shot, not looking so glamorous:

'You can Google me' - and pull up this mugshot.

As of December 26, 2011, shortly before the incident in question, King was an associate in Ice Miller’s Labor and Employment Group. Today, her bio is nowhere to be found on the firm’s website.

According to comments by King’s counsel, Alex Dathorne , the young lawyer has pleaded not guilty and has not been terminated by her firm (only placed on possible probation). But whether or not King made death threats to the police, this isn’t such hot publicity for Ice Miller, and they really can’t be blamed for freezing her out of the firm website.

Besides, did King really think that, as a new associate, she could get the firm to kill for her? They only do that for partners.

P.S. On the following page, we’ve reprinted Courtney King’s former Ice Miller website profile (which used to reside here , but is now gone; click on the image to enlarge it)."