A federal appeals court in Washington on Tuesday upheld a trial judge’s injunction freezing a solo practitioner’s assets pending the outcome of a legal malpractice suit.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, in a four-page per curiam judgment (pdf), said the trial judge did not overstep authority in freezing the lawyer’s assets and ordering the money placed in the registry of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.