Patricia L. Glaser

As long as the schadenfreude of a celebrity takedown exists, Glaser will be there ensuring the safety of her high-profile clientele.

In addition to defending Harvey Weinstein, Kirk Kerkorian and Keith Olbermann, Glaser picked up another client facing heavy backlash in the court of public opinion. Last summer, Glaser began representing John Schnatter, the founder of Papa John’s pizza franchise, after he was ousted by the company board. The company had alleged Schnatter used a racial slur in a conference call and evicted him from the company headquarters.

In a lawsuit against the company, Glaser accuses Papa John’s of doing nothing to fight the media frenzy after an article by Forbes magazine detailing the conference call was released. Schnatter v. Papa John’s International Inc., 2018-0542 (Del. Ch., filed July 26, 2018).

Glaser said protections against ruinous allegations are more important than ever.

“It’s easy to make an allegation and, what’s scary is, whether it’s true or not those allegations are what get printed, rather than any finding of wrongdoing or vindication,” Glaser said.

That means an elevated level of responsibility not only for reporters but also for lawyers, Glaser said. Her firm, she noted, has recently filed more motions to dismiss under Code of Civil Procedure 128.7, which calls for the dismissal of a complaint that has no basis in fact or law, than in years past.

“We’re doing that more often today not because we’re tough guys, but because there are a lot of inappropriate claims being made,” she said. “We don’t file without giving someone an opportunity to withdraw the complaint or significantly amend it, but if they don’t they deserve to get sanctioned.”

In addition to celebrities, Glaser represents businesses involved in high-stakes litigation. In that arena, she takes a unique approach: Put your trust in juries.

“Jury trials are very effective tools of justice,” Glaser said. “They really want to get it right and, in my personal experience, 99.9 percent of the time they get it right on liability.”

“You get rid of the arbitrariness of one person making a decision,” she continued. “It’s one of the last vestiges of democracy.”

—Paula Lehman-Ewing