Oh man, would I love to go up against John H. Lavely, Jr. in a courtroom libel case. How the hell do these people even graduate college?
Gotta love that last paragraph where he writes: "This is a confidential legal notice and is not for publication. Any publication, dissemination or broadcast of any portion of this letter will constitute a breach of confidence and a violation of the Copyright Act."
Is this man on crack?!!? He thinks that a confidential relationship exists between a lawyer and the person he threatens to sue???? (And don't even get me started on the copyright reference...)
What is particularly sad is that many attorneys actually think they are doing their clients a favor by striking such over-the-top postures. This makes Lohan look bad, even though she probably had nothing to do with the specific tone of this letter.
The Smoking Gun sees through the charade when it notes:
The Lohan legal threat--a copy of which you'll find below, sans the name/address of the recipient--recounts Michael Lohan's rap sheet and his history of violating restraining orders. Lavely also points out "oft-repeated reports" of Michael's psychological problems, drug and alcohol abuse, and how he once was thrown into a "mental home." But Lavely warned that journalists risked legal troubles if they mentioned Michael's claims that his wife and daughter were "emotionally unsound" or that Dina purportedly had substance abuse problems.
Yet another embarrassment to the legal profession....
Maybe this was all prodded by Lohan's stress over other lawsuits. Note to the AP: tread lightly when reporting this...
Posted by Justin Levine at February 3, 2005 04:27 PM | TrackBack