Somehow, before driving his firm and himself into near bankruptcy due to his insatiable lifestyle addiction, Michael Avenatti was once a respected California lawyer.

A respected California lawyer who clearly had no qualms googling things like "Insider trading" and "Nike puts" before allegedly attempting to extort the world's biggest manufacturer of athletic shoes. Even if he wasn't arrested for the threats, the SEC would have almost certainly nailed him if he tried to trade on his own press conference.

With Avenatti's trial set to begin next week, prosecutors are arguing that the judge should admit a history of Avenatti's google searches, which they argued offer critical insights into Avenatti's state of mind while he was concocting the so-called extortion plot (Avenatti originally partnered with another celebrity lawyer, Mark Geragos, according to media reports. However, Geragos was never charged in the scheme).