QUOTE(thekohser @ Wed 27th October 2010, 11:16am)
QUOTE(carbuncle @ Wed 27th October 2010, 11:54am)
Has anyone considered the possibility that Godwin decided to leave of his accord? Perhaps for "personnel" reasons?
Since we're speculating here, maybe he saw something coming down the pike that he didn't want to be around for or be associated with? Perhaps being the WMF's lawyer isn't such a great gig when they get successfully sued or stripped of their charity status? Not that I think either of those is likely to happen, but those were the only examples that sprang to mind.
That was my first consideration.
But, then I don't think he would have agreed to the wording of Gardner's posting. In fact, he would have probably insisted on as tersely-worded and uninformative a note as possible.
Because if you read between the lines and see how Gardner positioned the whole thing as being more Godwin's "fault" than the WMF's "fault", I think this was an unanticipated departure for Godwin.
No doubt about it, Sue's chirpy, vague and quite possibly passive-aggressive "Q&A" raises more questions than it answers. The rules of client confidentiality coupled with the natural interests of both the WMF and Godwin to kept quiet as to the true cause for his dismissal make it unlikely that we will ever know what really happened, unless someone says more than they would normally intend in an unguarded moment (always a possibility given this clown college roster). Even then, I would expect the glimpse at the truth to be a limited one.
While we are speculating as to the real reason, no need to leave out Godwin's reputation for prickliness. If Kelly Martin has him right (and I suspect she does), Godwin is thin-skinned and has a terrible temper. He may have finally wrote a check with his mouth that only a boot to his ass could cash. That would go a long way toward explaining Sue's precipitous and oddly phrased announcement.
Another possibility to consider is a common enough reason that attorneys get fired: he spoke a truth to his client that his client was not prepared to hear. When this is the cause for dismissal, it often comes as a relief to
both attorney and client, albeit for different reasons.