New York’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, asked Joseph Lee Matalon to represent an indigent criminal defendant pro bono, and Joe agreed. The issue was whether the defendant had received effective assistance of appellate counsel in prior proceedings. During the oral argument, Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman commented to Joe, “You’ve done a great job of making good arguments for this guy that might indeed have been made in 2008. But is it really gross incompetence not to, frankly, be as good as you are?”