https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/05/dont-watermark-your-legal-pdfs-with-purple-dragons-in-suits/

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Don't watermark your legal PDFs with purple dragons in suits

There's a time and there's a place. Federal court is neither.

Nate Anderson - May 1, 2025 3:41 pm | 140
[dragon-purple-640x542] [dragon-purple-1152x648-1746127413]
That is one purple dragon.
That is one purple dragon.
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Being a model citizen and a person of taste, you probably don't need
this reminder, but some others do: Federal judges do not like it when
lawyers electronically watermark every page of their legal PDFs with
a gigantic image--purchased for $20 online--of a purple dragon wearing
a suit and tie. Not even if your firm's name is "Dragon Lawyers."

Federal Magistrate Judge Ray Kent of the Western District of Michigan
was unamused by a recent complaint (PDF) that prominently featured
the aubergine wyrm.

"Each page of plaintiff's complaint appears on an e-filing which is
dominated by a large multi-colored cartoon dragon dressed in a suit,"
he wrote on April 28 (PDF). "Use of this dragon cartoon logo is not
only distracting, it is juvenile and impertinent. The Court is not a
cartoon."

Kent then ordered "that plaintiff shall not file any other documents
with the cartoon dragon or other inappropriate content."

Screenshot of a page from the complaint.
Seriously, don't do this.

The unusual order generated coverage across the legal blogging
community, which was apparently ensorcelled by a spell requiring
headline writers to use dragon-related puns, including:

  * Judge Slays Dragon-Branded Lawyer's Marketing Effort
  * Magistrate judge is breathing fire over law firm's dragon logo on
    legal pleadings
  * Exit the Dragon
  * US judge gives fiery response to e-filing "dominated by large
    cartoon dragon dressed in a suit"

Jacob A. Perrone is the lawyer behind Dragon Lawyers (phone number:
[area code redacted] JAKELAW). His website, which also features the
purple dragon and a bunch of busted links in the footer, says that
the firm "integrates AI to lower the cost of legal services."

The New York Times got in touch with Perrone this week, who explained
that he liked Game of Thrones, that he bought the dragon image
online, and that he selected it because "people like dragons." He
plans to keep using the logo but will tone it down in future filings.

The whole story would be far more humorous were it not from a case in
which Perrone represented a woman who claims that she nearly died
after being incarcerated and not given proper medical care. Perrone
must now refile his complaint in that case--without the cartoon
dragon.

Photo of Nate Anderson
Nate Anderson Deputy Editor
Nate Anderson Deputy Editor
Nate is the deputy editor at Ars Technica. His most recent book is In
Emergency, Break Glass: What Nietzsche Can Teach Us About Joyful
Living in a Tech-Saturated World, which is much funnier than it
sounds.
140 Comments
Staff Picks
SplatMan_DK
SplatMan_DK
I don't know what the big deal is. Lady Justice also has scales.
May 1, 2025 at 8:04 pm
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