Risk Update

Law Firm Conflicts “Curiosity” — Allegations of Conspiracy, Racketeering, Conflicts and More

Posted Dan Bressler

“Leon Black drops racketeering claims against law firm Wigdor” —

  • “Billionaire investor Leon Black has dropped the Wigdor law firm as a defendant against civil racketeering claims in his lawsuit against a former model who accused him of rape, and dropped the law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan after it identified a potential conflict.”
  • “The changes were disclosed in Black’s amended complaint filed on Monday night in Manhattan federal court against Guzel Ganieva, with whom the former Apollo Global Management Inc chief executive has admitted to having had a consensual 6-1/2-year relationship, and the Wigdor firm.”
  • “Black has forcefully denied Ganieva’s rape and sexual abuse claims, and accused her of extortion. He sued Ganieva last Oct. 28, four months after she sued him in a New York state court for alleged defamation and sexual violence.”
  • “According to court records, Quinn Emanuel obtained the presiding judge’s permission to withdraw after partner John Quinn said the firm had identified a ‘potential conflict of interest’ that might implicate issues of privilege.”

“The curious case of the Quinn Emanuel partner and the alleged conspiracy against Leon Black” —

  • “Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan withdrew this week as counsel to Apollo Global Management Inc founder Leon Black in a lawsuit claiming that an ex-model who has accused Black of rape conspired with his business rival in a smear campaign to bring down the billionaire financier.”
  • “Quinn’s withdrawal letter to U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer in Manhattan federal court cited a potential conflict of interest. The letter provided no additional details about the conflict.”
  • “But Black’s amended complaint, filed at the same time as Quinn’s withdrawal request, contains some intriguing assertions about contacts between purported participants in the alleged anti-Black conspiracy and Quinn litigation partner Alex Spiro.”
  • “There is a one big clue that the conflict is linked to Black’s conspiracy allegations: Quinn has not asked to withdraw as Black’s defense counsel in the New York state court sexual assault and defamation case brought by the ex-model, Guzel Ganieva. The firm’s email statement confirmed that Quinn continues to serve as Black’s counsel in the state case.”
  • “And regardless of the reasons for Quinn’s withdrawal from the federal case, it’s notable that Black’s own complaint asserts unusual incidents involving Quinn partner Spiro – or, at least, people wielding his name – and purported participants in a vast conspiracy to defame and extort Black, who remains a client of Spiro’s firm.”
  • “You need some background to understand those incidents. The lawsuit asserts that Black’s onetime protégé, Josh Harris, was incensed that Black spurned him as a successor to lead Apollo. The complaint claims that Harris orchestrated a retaliatory legal and media blitz against Black, conspiring with Ganieva and a public relations expert to ruin Black’s reputation with false claims of rape and kidnapping.”
  • “In early 2021, Black’s complaint alleged, ‘confederates’ of Harris called Spiro to find out if Quinn Emanuel was interested in taking a case against Black. The amended complaint does not specify the identity of these purported confederates, except to describe them as ‘an unidentified shadowy internal faction at Apollo that was involved in ‘cagey business’ there.'”