I’ve adverted in the past to the advice from the days of spruce-and-string aircraft: if you want to be an aviator, don’t throw away the ripcord when you bail out. See, e.g., my blogpost “Off the Hook,” 10/19/17.

I proffer the same advice to the six (count ’em, six) trusty attorneys for Pauls Farm Properties, LLC, Eco Terra 2016 Fund, LLC, Tax Matters Partner, et al., Docket No. 7519-20, filed 7/19/24, moving to withdraw as counsel but encountering headwinds from client, who objects.

Judge Patrick J. (“Scholar Pat”) Urda lets IRS file a reply (said trusty attorneys claim IRS didn’t object to their bailout motion), but wants a conference call with all hands. Immediately. A brief docket search shows trial underway, with all sorts of discovery tohubohu, and stips of facts.

Taishoff says said trusty attorneys better have a real good story to tell to get out at this point.

Edited to add, 12/7/24: They told a sufficiently good story to Judge Scholar Pat: the client wasn’t going to pay. See Pauls Farm Properties, LLC, Eco Terra 2016 Fund, LLC, Tax Matters Partner, et al., Docket No. 7519-20, filed 8/21/24. But I’m citing this order because it shows that giving fee estimates can be dangerous to your wallet; once a client hears a number, words in limitation thereof are meaningless. That number is everything.