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Enron Mail |
The case on which judge Whaley is starting trial this month is being tried
by my partner, John Allcock. It is a patent infringement case in which we represent the plaintiff, Hewlett Packard pursuing patent infringement claims against a company named Mustek for infringing the scanner patents owned by HP. It is a factually and legally complex case with fairly high stakes. Judge Whaley demands preparation and diligence of the lawyers but is reasonable and easy to get along with. He is described as hard working and thorough. He is apparently not experienced in patent cases but has taken the time to learn what he needs to learn to get it right. One notable result: he granted summary judgement against our client on a very factually complex record and then granted a motion to reconsider and reversed himself. His orders are well reasoned and reflect great care and attention. He works very hard; his trial week is Monday through Friday 8-5. Below are some emails we received from lawyers familiar with Judge Whaley which we gathered in preparation for the HP case. I will, of course, keep you informed as the trial proceeds. It sounds like there are some pluses and minus' but overall we could have done worse. here are the series of messages we had on Judge Whaley -----Original Message----- From: Carl Marquardt [mailto:carl.marquardt@stokeslaw.com] Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2001 05:25 PM To: 'macker@graycary.com' Subject: RE: Judge Whaley, E.D.Wash. Maria: I heard a lot more about Judge Whaley. Overall he has a very good reputation. Professional, courteous, and well-prepared. Was an accomplished trial lawyer and head of WSTLA (trial lawyers' assn.) before going on the bench. Probably liberal; considered to be plaintiff-oriented (in P.I. or employment cases, at least), but fair. One lawyer in our office had an employment case before him, where the plaintiffs' attorney was literally incompetent. She said it was obvious that Whaley was doing independent research on his own (w/out a clerk) to cover for the guy, and she was impressed by that. He eventually called the attorney's law partners into court and had him removed from the case. People say he doesn't grant summary judgment easily. That is mainly based on experience defending employment actions, but at least one attorney thought it would probably carry over to other cases (i.e., a judge who believes that juries should decide facts). Another lawyer described him as technically very sound (rulings on evidence etc.) but not intellectually brilliant. Everyone I heard from felt that he is a very good judge, and said they would be happy to have him for just about any case. -----Original Message----- From: Carl Marquardt Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2001 9:55 AM To: 'macker@graycary.com' Subject: FW: Judge Whaley, E.D.Wash. Maria, Here are a few comments re Judge Whaley. I understand that one of our attorneys, Alex Higgins, recently tried a case before him and might be the best resource. He's out this morning but I'll let you know what he says. ************** From: Denise Ashbaugh .... I've had two cases in front of him. Very reluctant to get overturned - so tentative to make any "borderline" decisions. I have won and lost a summary judgment motion in front of him - both employment law cases. -----Original Message----- From: Lisa Herb .... He is very fair - but also can be very firm about doing things by the book. He pushes attorneys very hard to keep to trial schedules. He can lose his temper - but in a calm way. He seemed smart, well informed and he paid attention. I liked him a lot as a judge. But make sure you are well prepared. -----Original Message----- From: Phillip Ginsberg .... I havehad some experience with him-positive -----Original Message----- From: Carl Marquardt Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2001 9:32 AM To: Litigation Subject: Judge Whaley, E.D.Wash. Does anybody know anything about this Judge? If so, please let me know. Thanks. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ----- [INFO] -- Content Manager: NOTICE: This email message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message. To contact our email administrator directly, send to postmaster@graycary.com Thank you. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ----- Jeffrey M. Shohet Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich Phone: (619) 699-2743 Fax: (619) 236-1048 Mobile: (619) 933-2743 email: jshohet@GrayCary.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- [INFO] -- Content Manager: NOTICE: This email message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message. To contact our email administrator directly, send to postmaster@graycary.com Thank you. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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