“In pitch-rigging case, Guardians pitcher seeks to shift more blame onto teammate” —

• “In a sign of a growing fissure between two Cleveland Guardians pitchers facing charges tied to a pitch-rigging scheme that benefited gamblers, a lawyer for Luis Ortiz said his client was among those duped by teammate and co-defendant Emmanuel Clase.”
• “In a legal filing unsealed on Monday, in which Ortiz’s representatives asked a federal judge to sever the cases so they could proceed separately, attorney Christos N. Georgalis emphasized the difference in scale between the two pitchers’ alleged participation in the operation. Georgalis characterized Ortiz as ‘a victim of Clase’s scheme, rather than a knowing and willing participant.'”
• “Though the November indictment that brought four federal charges against Clase described nine suspicious pitches he allegedly threw as part of the gambling scheme, prosecutors have opened the possibility that there are more. Attorneys for the government told a federal judge last month they still may identify other pitches and that their investigation is still ongoing. By contrast, Ortiz was accused of rigging two pitches in the indictment and prosecutors said that number has not changed.”
• “Georgalis also cited a potential conflict of interest as justification for severing the cases. The filings detail Clase’s attorneys interviewing witnesses who denied the existence of a betting scheme, but at least one of whom is expected to testify otherwise, according to prosecutors. Even after he was made aware by a judge that the potential conflict of interest could limit how his attorneys question the witnesses they had previously interviewed, Clase elected to stay with his lawyers.”
• “Ortiz’s attorney raised the possibility of serving as a ‘second prosecutor’ and calling Clase’s lawyers to the stand in defense of his client — which he said is an option only if the cases are separated.”
• “One of Ortiz’s ‘likely defenses,’ Georgalis wrote in the filing, is that Clase supplied Ortiz’s pitching strategy to the bettors without his teammate’s knowledge. That approach, Georgalis wrote, ‘is mutually antagonistic to Mr. Clase’s claim of innocence.'”
• “The scheme involved pitchers allegedly predetermining the results of prop bets, as outlined in a 23-page indictment unsealed in November. According to that filing, the ploy netted gamblers winnings of $460,000.”
• “Martin S. Bell, an attorney at Simpson Thatcher and a former federal prosecutor, said there are several reasons why Ortiz could want to sever his case from Clase. Doing so might help Ortiz avoid being prejudiced by the evidence against Clase. The move would also give Ortiz a chance to litigate his case after the government presents their case against Clase at trial, which could be an advantage.”
• “But Bell also noted that, while Ortiz and Clase could still cooperate together in their defense, Ortiz shifting blame to his former teammate also indicates that the parties may be at odds.”
• “‘It’s an interesting posture to be in where you’ve got defendants who are still, in a very important way, sort of on the same boat, but for purposes of this motion, and very possibly for purposes of the practical conduct of a trial, now find themselves, at the very least, on opposite ends with that same boat,’ Bell said. ‘And the question is going to be, is is that boat shaped in such a way that the judge is going to say, ‘Hey, an actual unwarranted injustice would result for making them both go through the trial in that same boat?’'”

“Cadwalader Trial Leaders Resign After Hogan Conflicts Review” —

• “Cadwalader litigation practice leaders Nicholas Gravante and Phil Iovieno resigned on Friday due to conflicts of interest with clients of the firm’s partner in a planned merger, Hogan Lovells.”
• “Litigators Sean O’Shea, Michael Petrella and Matthew Karlan are also leaving, along with corporate partner Nick Ramphal, according to internal emails reviewed by Bloomberg Law. Friday was also their last day, and there’s no word on the six lawyers’ next moves. They didn’t answer comment requests.”
• “Cadwalader said in a statement that the firm expected a few conflicts of interest ‘would be inevitable in the process of creating a global firm with more than 3,100 lawyers.’ It added that ‘we are disappointed that our colleagues will not be a part of the combined firm, but the interests of the clients come first.’ Hogan Lovells declined to comment.”
• “The departures solidify Cadwalader’s shift in focus to complex finance work from litigation as a result of the coming merger. The firms in December announced their plan to create Hogan Lovells Cadwalader, a giant that will generate enough revenue to likely place it among the five largest US firms.”
• “Gravante and some colleagues understood they wouldn’t be able to stay at the firm after a Hogan Lovells merger because of conflicts, according to a person familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity to discuss the departures. Gravante and Iovieno have represented meat buyers in price fixing litigation against meat industry companies that include Hogan clients, the person said.”
• “Hogan CEO Miguel Zaldivar cited Cadwalader’s ‘top of the market finance capabilities’ and growing in New York as his motivation for pursuing the Cadwalader merger. In an interview with the American Lawyer, Zaldivar said partners who Hogan identified as key to the merger, like those who control the bank relationships and sources of revenue, are staying.”