The attorney for Miya Ponsetto — the woman known as ‘SoHo Karen’ for attacking and falsely accusing a black teenager of stealing her cellphone — describes her as a “challenging” client.

And Anthony V. Alfieri, a professor and the director of the Center for Ethics & Public Service at the University of Miami School of Law, said the use of the trope could raise serious ethical questions about Sharen H. Ghatan, founding attorney at California Legal Counsel, who is representing Ponsetto in the Golden State.