"Distracting" Buxom Paralegal Turns Out To Be Lawyer's Wife

Last week, the lawyer for a car dealership filed a motion alleging that his opponent was using a “large breasted” paralegal as a distraction. Now that paralegal turns out to be the opponent’s wife.

In a statement provided to us and the NY Daily News, among others, attorney Dmitry Feofanov wrote,

My office is a one-lawyer office, ChicagoLemonLaw.com. I sue car dealers and car manufacturers for breaches of warranties and fraud. As in many small businesses and law offices, my wife, Daniella Atencia, is my office manager, my paralegal, my secretary, and my bill-payer. I have been brought up believing that it is not professional to try cases in the press, but recent negative comments about my wife leave me no choice but to respond.

Regarding the allegation that Atencia (pictured at left) only appeared in the courtroom as a “large breasted” distraction device, Feofanov said,

Ms. Atencia is quite shocked at the tenor of comments pertaining to her physical appearance and regarding her qualifications and professionalism, especially since the latter make those claims without a shred of evidence. If there is a problem with decorum in the court room, our judges are capable of addressing it as it arises, not based on conjecture and innuendo. Ms. Atencia resents this violation of her privacy and thinks it is unprofessional to subject her to attacks on her abilities and qualifications just because she comes to court to assist me in trying cases. She thinks the comments made about her have no place in the twenty-first century.

Thomas Gooch, the attorney who filed the anti-breast motion in the first place, is sticking to his guns. He says, “Personally, I like large breasts. However, I object to somebody I don’t think is a qualified paralegal sitting at the counsel table — when there’s already two lawyers there — dressed in such a fashion as to call attention to herself.” It’s nice to know what Gooch prefers in the breast department, but at this point, he hasn’t really proved his case — unless the courtroom is full of teenage boys, it’s hard to see how one well-endowed woman would provide sufficient distraction to really influence matters. The media, of course, is another story — Feofanov says he’s been inundated with requests for pictures of his wife’s cleavage. He has not complied.

Lawyer Offended By Claim He Used Busty Paralegal To Distract Jury: It Was His ‘Over-Qualified’ Wife [NY Daily News]