Lawyer Suspended Following Tirade During Deposition

Daily Business Review

www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202464112106

submitted by Martha Hutchings

August 02, 2010

A Miami attorney's law license has been suspended for 60 days for disruptive and intimidating behavior in a deposition with DuPont attorneys in a Benlate damages case.

The Florida Supreme Court also ordered a public reprimand, two years probation and mental health counseling for Robert Joseph Ratiner and required him to write letters of apology to people at the deposition. He must be videotaped or accompanied by co-counsel at future depositions.

The discipline was based on a videotape of the deposition showing a DuPont attorney attempting to place an exhibit sticker on Ratiner's laptop computer. He responded by briefly touching the opposing counsel's hand, attempting to run around the table toward him and launching into a tirade, according to the referee's findings.

The court suggested Florida Bar members and law students could view the video as part of a course on professionalism "as a glaring example of how not to conduct oneself in a legal proceeding."

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