who is buzzfeed's labor lawyer

What do prominent people do when they are accused of misconduct?

When a prominent person is accused of misconduct, they often hire a team of high-priced publicists and lawyers to act as their first line of defense — and business is booming.

How much does James Dondero make?

Highland Capital founder James Dondero makes around $30 million a year. A prenup calls for his wife, Becky, to get $5 million in a divorce settlement. He has resisted paying her for two years, and now, a judge in Texas has reached a verdict in the bitter standoff.

1. This shady plaintiff

"I was representing a plaintiff in a hit-and-run case. Plaintiff is testifying and is, despite me preparing them for several hours the previous day, an absolutely terrible witness for her own case. Like, she couldn’t even identify the street she was crossing when she was hit by the car. The 'oh shit' moment came during cross examination.

2. This lawyer's epic fail

"I sat in on a personal injury case, where the plaintiff broke their leg in an accident and had a doctor on the stand as an expert. The woman's lawyer begins questioning the doctor about their experience with leg injuries (he was a well-known orthopedic surgeon in the area).

3. This simple question-and-answer mess-up

"Custody dispute. Dad's attorney grilled mom for about 20 minutes on texts she had sent claiming to sell her prescriptions. She wouldn't admit it. Dad's attorney moved on and eventually ended with, 'One more question. Where did you get the pills you were selling?' Mom responds without thinking, 'Oh, my doctor prescribed them.'"

4. This automobile assumption

"I had parked my motorcycle in my driveway. The officer ordered me to remove it, and tried to levy fines for the violation. He went after my landlord and tried to get me evicted. Eventually, I got a lawyer and filed a complaint. When asked to point to the bylaw I was breaking, he did and even read it out, which basically read:

5. This oblivious attorney

"Custody case. Attorney stands up in this case and goes to the judge: 'My client has only been found guilty of child endangerment in (county next to us) and (county next to that). I see no reason that this court should hold that against him when it comes to custody of his children.'"

6. This dead giveaway

"Custody dispute. Children have severe asthma. The kind of asthma that requires special equipment, and mom said the father is ignoring these issues. He's negligent. He's endangering them. Mom should have custody. Mother called her mother — the kids' grandma — to the stand. She babysat the kids often.

7. This BS evidence

"I was reviewing some documents of a case involving work-related death benefits. Naturally, the deceased's heirs were claiming the money as they were the beneficiaries. Basically, the heirs just had to prove that the deceased's death was work-related. I noticed that the official certificate of death said the guy passed away on Jan.