In an unusual move, prosecutors charged the 61-year-old Stevens last November with lying to the Food and Drug Administration about whether Glaxo was promoting its depression drug Wellbutrin for non-approved uses, such as weight loss. On Tuesday, in the midst of Stevens’s trial, Weingarten convinced Maryland federal district court judge Roger Titus to acquit his client before he even put on a single witness.

In a ruling he read from the bench, Judge Titus emphasized that he isn’t averse to sending lawyers to prison when they deserve it, and noted that the Fourth Circuit recently upheld his sentencing of a lawyer involved in an illegal tax avoidance scheme. But this case, Titus concluded, should never have been brought: “There is an enormous potential for abuse in allowing prosecution of an attorney for the giving of legal advice. I conclude that the defendant in this case should never have been prosecuted and she should be permitted to resume her career.”

“I had a sense the trial was going very well,” said Weingarten about his assessment of the case before the judge’s ruling. Still, getting a full acquittal mid-trial is exceptionally rare. “I’ve had counts knocked out before, but I’ve never had a clean sweep,” he said. Weingarten, who was added to the defense team as the trial approached, worked with lawyers from Ropes & Gray.