“Musk Atty Alex Spiro Faces DQ Bid Ahead Of Twitter Deal Trial” —

• “A certified class of former Twitter investors accusing Elon Musk of tanking the social media platform’s stock during acquisition negotiations has urged a California federal judge to disqualify Musk’s proposed lead trial counsel Alex Spiro before a January trial, arguing he’s a ‘critical first-hand witness’ and may testify, according to documents unsealed Monday.”
• “In a motion filed Sept. 26 and partially unsealed Monday, the investors argue Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP partner Alex Spiro’s possible direct involvement in key events surrounding the billionaire’s $44 billion acquisition of Twitter in 2022 makes him a key witness, creating a conflict under the advocate-witness rule.”
• “The investors argue allowing Spiro to represent Musk at trial when he may also be called to the stand would create a ‘grave risk of jury confusion, make a mockery out of these proceedings and inflict serious prejudice on plaintiffs.'”
• “They added that even if Spiro agrees to testify, that would still create confusion, and the investors say Spiro has been almost entirely absent from the litigation, appearing only via videoconference, while his colleagues have handled the case for years.”
• “In the investors’ latest motion, they argue that in recent years, Spiro and former banker Jared Birchall helped manage Musk’s financial, business and legal affairs, and helped Musk obtain counsel. Musk failed to timely file reports with regulators after he acquired a 9% stake in Twitter between January and March 2022.”
• “Spiro was Musk’s business adviser and helped him organize his unsolicited pursuit of Twitter in April 2022, serving as the direct supervisor for the work Morgan Stanley and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP were doing for Musk, the motion said.”
• “The investors argued that at trial they plan to show Musk used Twitter’s estimate of the number of spam accounts as a pretext to exit or renegotiate his obligations to acquire Twitter for $54.20 per share, and in light of his purported role as an adviser to Musk, Spiro likely has ‘unique and highly relevant knowledge’ about those issues, the motion said.”
• “Further complicating matters, the investors said, Spiro was so ‘enmeshed’ with the key events of the case that there is the ‘perplexing likelihood that Spiro himself will cross-examine a number of witnesses about their 2022 interactions with him.'”
• “The investors added that ultimately Spiro is a seasoned trial lawyer who narrates extensively when examining witnesses and who has his own media presence, ‘all of which greatly enhances the risk that he will take advantage of his skills and notoriety to cross-contaminate witness testimony and advocacy.'”
• “A hearing on the motion to disqualify is set for Oct. 31 before Judge Breyer, on the same day he is set to hear arguments on the motions for summary judgment.”

“Law Firms’ Trump Deals Escape NY Lawyer Ethics Investigation” —

• “A disciplinary body for New York lawyers is putting off an ethics probe into major law firms’ deals with President Donald Trump. A New York Supreme Court committee last month declined to take up a complaint against nine firms that pledged nearly $1 billion in free legal services to White House in exchange for the removal of administrative probes and punishments, according to documents obtained by Bloomberg Law. The complaint, filed by a group of law professors, accused the firms of violating ethics rules by ‘capitulating’ to Trump’s ‘bullying.'”
• “‘The business decisions of law firms, such as the selection of clients or the allocation of pro bono resources, generally fall outside the purview of this Committee,’ Jorge Dopico, chief attorney for the committee, said in a Sept. 2 letter.”
• “Those deals became a flashpoint of criticism for some of the country’s largest and most powerful law firms. Paul Weiss was the first to reach an agreement after it was the subject of an executive order. The other firms made deals to avoid that fate and to resolve investigations into their diversity programs.”
• “The court’s attorney grievance committee plans to ‘defer further investigation,’ Dopico said in the letter. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.”
• “Four law firms hit by executive orders over their ties to certain attorneys and cases sued the Trump administration, winning injunctions. The orders—against Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block, Susman & Godfrey, and WilmerHale—blocked lawyers’ access to government buildings, revoked security clearances, and threatened their clients’ government contracts.”
• “The professors’ complaint alleges the firms that made deals with Trump violated their duty to maintain the independence of the legal profession. They also engaged in bribery and extortion by giving the president ‘a ‘war chest’ worth nearly a billion dollars to spend as he pleases on his favorite political causes,’ according to the professors.”
• “Although the firms ‘are the victims of the illegality, they nevertheless had a choice to either litigate, as other firms did, or pay the bribes,’ the professors said in the complaint. ‘They chose to be extorted and pay the bribes.'”
• “The professors have asked the grievance committee to reconsider its decision, arguing that it can ask the firms to produce documents and testify under oath regarding the deals.”
• “‘The very existence of an investigation will inform the Respondents, the President, other firms that might find themselves in his crosshairs, and ultimately the public at large, that New York’s Attorney Grievance Committee is serious about protecting the independence of the legal profession and the sanctity of the rule of law,’ the law professors wrote.”
• “The complaint did not seek discipline for any individual lawyer at the firms. Instead, it sought a public censure or an order requiring the firms to ‘cease and desist from further compliance with the commitments they made.'”