Thread by @meghanncuniff

Here’s a courtroom switch: Brian Panish is one of the nation’s top trial lawyers. His current cases include the wrongful death lawsuit against Alec Baldwin. But today he’s not at the lectern, he’s on the witness stand in an @OCSuperiorCourt lawsuit involving Michael Avenatti.

Here’s Panish taking the oath. (I was allowed to take photos but had to stay where I’m seated so hence the angle.)

Here’s my @lawdotcom article explaining Panish’s involvement in this case. He’s a witness for his ex-clients (and Avenatti’s) who are being sued by his ex co-counsel over a $5.4 million attorney fee everyone agrees Avenatti kept for himself. bit.ly/3LJz0zQ

In 15 minutes on the stand, there have been two sidebars related to seemingly incessant questioning about how great Panish is. Lawyer Chris Wesierski went over Panish’s resume in detail and asked about his wins; sidebars called after multiple relevancy objections sustained.

Wesierski asked Panish about his verdicts and settlements. He has six verdicts over $50 million. 100 over $10 million. (“I think so,” Panish answered.) 500 verdicts and settlements over $1 million. He asked about the lawsuit against Alec Baldwin, but the objection was sustained.

Wesierski was going over some of Panish’s awards and recognitions when Panish answered, “I think you covered them, Mr. Wesierski. Let’s get to it.”

Now we’re getting into testimony about the actual case at hand.

Avenatti has been mentioned so much in this trial, and jurors last week saw a 2015 video deposition from him, then were told by the judge about his criminal convictions. So when Panish brought him up today in testimony, a few jurors snickered laughing, like, oh yeah, we know him.

“He’s a good lawyer. He didn’t get where he was because he’s a bad lawyer,” Panish said, after describing some of Avenatti’s big cases (c.c.: @Popehat)

One fun part of this trial is the ex-co-counsel saying that some of his work on the case involved reading @LADailyJournal. Both Panish and ethics lawyer Edith Matthai, who testified last week, have been asked about the Daily Journal and its role in the California legal community.

An example of some of the crucial evidence jurors are seeing in this trial:

An email Avenatti wrote Panish in 2011 about their co-counsel Robert Stoll.

Subject: Stoll

Body: Is a fucking tool. I am going to kill him.

One important fact I’ve confirmed with Brian Panish: He’s basically a defacto Oregon Duck fan because of his longtime friendship with @uoregon alum and super donor (and former athletic director) Pat Kilkenny. #GoDucks

Panish is of course a loyal @FresnoStateFB bulldog after playing there on scholarship in college. But he’s known Pat for years and serves on the board for his @LuckyDuckFound, and he told me he knows many Oregon people, including a former assistant coach he coached in high school

I realize this #GoDucks talk may seem a little in the weeds to some/many, but as @anthonywarren can confirm, it’s actually crucial information that needs to be widely disseminated to the public. So, please re-tweet.