Which law firm represents twitter?

(Reuters) - Twitter Inc has hired a law firm that its new CEO Elon Musk bashed at least twice on the social media platform, including in a tweet last month about the firm's work for former Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

Lawyers from Seattle-founded Perkins Coie told a San Francisco federal judge Wednesday that they will defend Twitter and former CEO Jack Dorsey in a lawsuit filed by a far-right activist who was banned from the site in 2018.

Musk tweeted last month that Twitter "isn't using Perkins Coie" as outside counsel and urged other companies to boycott the firm. Perkins Coie still represents Twitter in at least six other cases from before Musk acquired the company in October.

A Perkins Coie spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In his Dec. 8 tweet, Musk criticized a former Perkins Coie lawyer, Michael Sussmann, who had advised Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign while at the firm.

Sussmann was acquitted in May after denying federal charges that he falsely told former FBI general counsel James Baker he was not working on Clinton's behalf when he gave the FBI purported evidence of questionable cyber links between the Trump Organization and a Russian-based bank.

"No company should use them until they make amends for Sussmann’s attempt to corrupt a Presidential election," Musk wrote, referring to Perkins Coie.

Neither Musk nor Twitter responded to requests for comment.

Musk also singled out Perkins Coie and Cooley, a large Silicon Valley-founded law firm, in a tweet in May. The firms are made up of "white-shoe lawyers" who "thrive on corruption," he wrote. A Cooley spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

According to Wednesday's court filings, Perkins Coie is replacing Jenner & Block as counsel for Twitter and Dorsey in a civil RICO lawsuit brought by activist Laura Loomer against Twitter and other defendants.

Loomer, who is seeking $10 billion in damages, claims social media giants, corporations and the federal government conspired to "unlawfully censor conservative voices and interfere with American elections." Twitter and Dorsey have denied the claims.

Since taking over as CEO, Musk has fired Vijaya Gadde, Twitter's legal affairs and policy officer, and Baker, who joined the company from the FBI. Twitter has also shaken up its outside legal teams, with attorneys from Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan stepping in for other firms in several cases.

Quinn Emanuel on Wednesday told a San Francisco judge it will replace Shearman & Sterling to defend Twitter in a pending class action lawsuit brought by a Twitter stockholder.

Quinn Emanuel was already involved in the case, representing Musk, one of the defendants. It has also replaced law firms Cooley and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in pending lawsuits against Twitter since Musk became CEO. A Quinn Emanuel spokesperson said the firm had no comment.

(Additional reporting by Mike Scarcella)

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Social media giant Twitter has hired a law firm that was previously bashed by its current owner and CEO Elon Musk on the platform, as it prepares to take on a new lawsuit seeking $10 billion, according to reports.

Reuters reported that on Wednesday, lawyers from Perkins Coie told a San Francisco judge they would be defending Twitter and former CEO Jack Dorsey in a lawsuit file by Laura Loomer, a far-right activist.

Looner filed the civil lawsuit against Twitter and other defendants and is seeking $10 billion in damages, claiming social media giants, the federal government and corporations are "unlawfully" censoring conservative voices and interfering with elections in the U.S.

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The law firm Jenner & Block was representing the company in the lawsuit, but they have since been replaced by Perkins Coie.

Musk has criticized the law firm at least twice on social media.

In a tweet on Dec. 8. he criticized Perkins Coie lawyer Michael Sussman, who was an advisor for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in 2016.

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Sussman was accused of lying to FBI general counsel James Baker when asked if he was working on Clinton’s behalf when he presented the FBI alleged evidence of links between a Russian bank and the Trump Organization.

"There’s a lot more to full transparency just re Russiagate than getting rid of Baker but it’s a big step," Former State Department adviser Amanda Milius tweeted on Dec. 6, 2022. "If Perkins Coie is @elonmusk Twitter’s outside counsel this isn’t remotely enough."

In a reply to Milius, Musk said Twitter was not using Perkins Coie.

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"No company should use them until they make amends for Sussman’s attempt to corrupt a Presidential election," he said.

Musk also slammed the law firm on May 20, 2022, when it came to litigation Tesla was involved in.

"Looking for hardcore streetfighters, not white-shoe lawyers like Perkins or Cooley who thrive on corruption," he said. "There will be blood."

Perkins Coie still represents Twitter in at least six other cases from before Musk acquired the company in October.

Feb 13 (Reuters) - More than a month after Twitter Inc CEO Elon Musk said an internal "error" caused the company to hire a law firm that he had publicly accused of corruption, the firm has formally ended its involvement in Twitter's case.

Lawyers from Seattle-founded Perkins Coie told a federal judge in California on Friday that another firm will take over representation of Twitter and its former CEO Jack Dorsey in the case, a civil RICO lawsuit filed by a far-right activist who was previously banned from the social media platform.

Perkins Coie partner Julie Schwartz and spokespeople for the firm did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Willkie, Farr & Gallagher partners Jonathan Patchen, Meryl Governski and Michael Gottlieb are now representing Twitter in the case. They did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Reuters reported last month that lawyers from Perkins Coie had recently entered court appearances for Twitter even though Musk has disparaged the law firm, including in a May tweet that said Perkins Coie is made up of "white-shoe lawyers" who "thrive on corruption."

In December, Musk again called out the firm in a tweet citing a former Perkins Coie lawyer, Michael Sussmann, who advised Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign while at the firm.

Sussmann was acquitted in May of federal charges that he falsely told the FBI he was not working on Clinton's behalf when he gave the agency purported evidence of cyber links between the Trump Organization and a Russia-based bank.

"No company should use them until they make amends for Sussmann’s attempt to corrupt a Presidential election," Musk wrote, referring to Perkins Coie.

Musk last month told Reuters that hiring Perkins Coie in the California lawsuit was "an error on the part of a member of the Twitter team."

Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.

Twitter's internal and outside legal staff has been in flux ever since Musk acquired the company for $44 billion and took over as CEO in October.

He fired Vijaya Gadde, Twitter's legal affairs and policy officer, among other in-house changes, and replaced the company's outside attorneys in several cases.

The California lawsuit, brought last year by Laura Loomer, claims social media giants, corporations and the U.S. government conspired to "unlawfully censor conservative voices and interfere with American elections." Twitter and Dorsey have denied the claims.

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