SAN JOSE — David Boies didn’t pull any punches as he faced off against a pair of pro se litigants in an unusual patent trial.

The famed trial lawyer apologized for using foul language in his opening statement as he described how a pair of inventors allegedly preyed on startup CEO Elizabeth Holmes, writing her off as a “dumb-ass kid.” He also referenced videotaped testimony from a former McDermott Will & Emery partner who threatened to “fuck with her til she dies.”