A Lawyer's "Good Day" at the Supreme Court

When Eric Brunstad Jr. appeared before the Supreme Court in January — his seventh argument there — justices were tough, bordering on brutal, toward him. Some questioned the accuracy of statements in his briefs, and though he defended himself steadfastly, there was reason to wonder if he'd ever want to show his face at the Court again. (Adding insult to injury, the Court ruled 8-1 against his client in the case Preston v. Ferrer last month.)

But the Bingham McCutchen bankruptcy expert did return on Wednesday, and from the tenor of the questioning, all seemed to be forgiven, more or less. Brunstad (photo at right) argued for the respondent in Florida Department of Revenue v. Piccadilly Cafeterias, a bankruptcy case that put him more in his comfort zone than the arbitration case he argued in January. Brunstad handled questions efficiently, rattling off subsections of the bankruptcy code from memory.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who was critical of Brunstad in January, even paid Brunstad a compliment this time around. "There's an aspect of the way this looks that I don't understand, and you're an expert in this area," she said. "Perhaps you can explain it to me." But Justice Anthony Kennedy, Brunstad's leading tormentor in January, may not have gotten over it. He did not ask Brunstad a single question.

Reached today at his Hartford office, Brunstad agreed that Wednesday was a "good day," compared to his January argument which he described as "a tough time." Wednesday, he said, "seemed like the others" he had argued previously. "It had the right flow." Brunstad, who has managed to build a significant Supreme Court practice from Hartford, said he has been busy since the January argument. "The phone is still ringing."