Using unusually strong language, a federal bankruptcy judge recently slammed Washington’s Butzel Long Tighe Patton for failing to disclose a client conflict and stripped the firm of nearly $72,000 in fees.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge S. Martin Teel Jr., with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Columbia, reserved his harshest criticism for name partner Thomas Patton, concluding it was “inexcusable” that he didn’t show up for a fee application hearing for its work on behalf of a client.