Risk Update

Hip Hop NFT Clash, Lawyer Conflicts Complaint — Roca-A-Fella v Dash

Jay-Z’s Lawyer and Damon Dash Clash Over Truth, NFTs and Conflict of Interest” —

  • “On June 22, a judge sided with Roc-A-Fella Records in the label’s lawsuit against co-founder Damon Dash, filing a temporary restraining order prohibiting Dash from his alleged attempt to sell a portion of the copyright to Jay-Z’s 1996 debut album Reasonable Doubt as an NFT. The case continues to stir up drama, as Dash is now trying to disqualify Roc-A-Fella’s legal counsel.”
  • “Roc-A-Fella is represented in the lawsuit by Alex Spiro, a partner at the New York office of law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. Spiro is also Jay-Z’s personal lawyer. In court documents filed on June 25, Dash claims that Spiro is currently representing Jay-Z in shareholder governance hearings taking place at Roc-A-Fella (referred to in court documents as RAF), and that Spiro’s representation of Roc-A-Fella itself in this case therefore represents a conflict of interest.”
  • “Spiro — who has also represented Meek Mill, 21 Savage and Bobby Shmurda — fired back in court documents filed on June 28, claiming that no conflict of interest exists since Jay-Z’s and Roc-A-Fella’s interests are directly aligned. A conflict of interest would only arise, he argues, if he had previously represented the opposition (meaning Dash himself).”
  • “‘Dash was trying to steal RAF, Inc.’s property — to the detriment of the company and its other shareholders. Jay-Z and RAF, Inc.’s interests are therefore directly aligned,’ he writes. ‘Nor does Quinn Emanuel have ‘privileged information concerning the other side through prior representation.’ The firm has never represented Dash, and it has not represented RAF, Inc. in any matters through which it acquired any of Dash’s privileged information.'”