McDonald’s Meeting With Lawyer and Client in Civil Rights Claim Lands Lawyer in Trouble with Federal District Judge.
We know there is a popular saying “he is the real McCoy” and also know Sam Waterston’s portrayal of D.A. Jack McCoy on “Law and Order.” However, Bay Area attorney Waukeen McCoy has gained some press for his handling of a civil rights case before Northern California U.S. District Judge Susan Illston.
Mr. McCoy—the real one, that is—represented plaintiffs in a civil rights claim against FedEx Corp., winning several nice verdicts and settling against the well-known corporation. However, Mr. McCoy allegedly solicited cash payments from three plaintiffs over and beyond his contractual fees, despite promising Judge Illston he had or would not do so. One plaintiff is quoted as saying that she took BART and met Mr. McCoy at a McDonald’s on Market Street in San Francisco, where she gave him $15,000 extra in cash. In all, Mr. McCoy apparently received more than $40,000 in cash payments, which Judge Illston ordered to be reimbursed in a ruling on December 18, 2009. Even with the pending orders by the judge, Mr. McCoy stands to still receive about $291,000 for his FedEx work.
For more on this “real McCoy” saga, see Dan Levine’s December 22, 2009 post “In FedEx Fee Fight Case, Judge Finds Lawyer Solicited Cash From Clients,” available for reading at Law.com.
Left: Sam Waterston as Jack McCoy
Right: Walter Brennan as Grandpa Amos McCoy
