Lawyer Who Sued Led Zeppelin Suspended From Practicing Law

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Led Zeppelin photo by Laurance Ratner/WireImage; Francis Malofiy photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images

Francis Malofiy, the lawyer who took on the copyright infringement case against Led Zeppelin on behalf of the band Spirit, has been suspended from practicing law. A ruling today will uphold a recommended suspension of three months and one day, over violation of “various rules of conduct” during his work on a copyright infringement lawsuit over Usher's song “Bad Girls.” According to the Hollywood Reporter, Malofiy received over one hundred sustained objections and “multiple admonishments” from the judge during the Led Zeppelin trial as well. The suspension applies in Pennsylvania, where the Usher trial was held, but this suspension has the potential to affect Malofiy's work in California as well.

Read “What Led Zeppelin’s ‘Stairway’ Trial Says About Copyright’s Increasingly Blurred Lines” on the Pitch.