Biglaw Partner Says Judge Assaulted Him When They Were Both Associates – Now He Wants The Judge To Recuse Himself

Biglaw associate Francis G.X. Pileggi of Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith alleges that he was assaulted by Delaware federal choose Gregory Williams 15 years in the past. On the time of the alleged incident, Pileggi and Williams had been each associates at Fox Rothschild and the combat occurred over a political fundraiser.

The allegations come by way of a movement to have Williams recuse himself in an employment case Pileggi has in his courtroom. Effectively, to be truthful, the most recent is actually a motion for Williams to rethink recusing himself. Williams beforehand denied the assault allegations and refused to recuse himself, saying there’s no proof he “harbors any animus or bias in opposition to the Delaware legal professional shifting for recusal, and no proof or motive to assist any declare that the choose has ever had any bias in opposition to” Pileggi’s shopper.

So what does Pileggi allege occurred throughout that ill-fated fundraiser? As described by Bloomberg Regulation:

Based on Pileggi, Williams was “enraged” that he wasn’t named as a bunch of a political fundraiser on the invitation, and blamed Pileggi. Pileggi served on the marketing campaign’s finance committee.

Williams “exploded with rage, and stormed into my workplace, with out knocking, closing the door behind him, walked behind my desk, and thrust each of his palms in opposition to my chest, making me stumble backwards,” Pileggi claimed in a court docket submitting. He stated his desk chair and a few private objects within the windowsill had been knocked over.

The 2 left his workplace to proceed the dialogue away from others, throughout which Williams “once more criminally assaulted me” and was “repeatedly difficult me to a combat,” Pileggi stated. Pileggi alleged he walked away and that Williams was in the end restrained by one other legal professional.

Williams beforehand recused himself from one other Pileggi case “out of an abundance of warning and respect for the general public’s confidence within the impartiality of this Courtroom.” In that case, Williams denied there was a bodily combat between the 2, and stated, “The choose put the incident behind him years in the past and has no private animus or bias in opposition to Mr. Pileggi or his shopper.”

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Regulation, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the most effective, so please join together with her. Be at liberty to e-mail her with any suggestions, questions, or feedback and observe her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.