Courthouse News tells the story of a lawyer who didn’t an asset freeze applied to his client’s mother’s art:

The 5th Circuit upheld a civil contempt order against an attorney who helped his client evade an asset freeze by selling a Picasso painting for $431,161. Jeffrey Bruteyn hired attorney Phillip Offill Jr. to defend him in a securities fraud lawsuit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The same day the SEC filed suit, the district court issued a temporary restraining order freezing Bruteyn’s assets. Bruteyn and several business associates and friends met at Offill’s office to discuss how Bruteyn would access money for living expenses and legal costs. Bruteyn proposed selling a Picasso painting hanging in his bedroom to United Financial. Offill initially opposed the plan, but later said it would be legal because the painting was owned by Bruteyn’s mother, Lois Whitcraft. Bruteyn called his mother and received her permission to sell the painting. The money was wired into Whitcraft’s account for her son’s use.

Attorney Held in Contempt for Helping Client Sell Picasso (CourthouseNews.com)