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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

RUDY'S RESPONSE – The disciplinary counsel for the D.C. Bar said an ethics hearing in September against Rudy Giuliani should focus on whether the former attorney for President Donald Trump had any evidence of the unsubstantiated election fraud claims he made before a federal court. Hamilton Fox, the D.C. Bar's disciplinary lawyer, made the case as a board weighs whether Giuliani should face sanctions for his role in the litigation, Avalon Zoppo reports. Fox cautioned Giuliani's attorneys not to redirect the future hearing to be about their clients' evidence of opportunities for potential fraud, but instead key in on whether he had proof of actual wrongdoing in the election. Meanwhile, Giuliani's attorney, Barry Kamins, said on Thursday that he and his co-counsel, John Leventhal, plan to show that their client relied on information from other attorneys, making it reasonable for him to believe the allegations were true.

FOX ROTHSCHILD PARTNER KILLED – Charles Toutant has learned that attorneys at Fox Rothschild are mourning the loss of Harry Jackson III, a partner in the firm's Atlantic City, New Jersey, office, who died in a auto accident on July 29. Jackson was 33. A member of the firm's gaming department and co-chair of Fox Rothschild's American Indian Law Practice, Jackson's life was full of promise: He made partner in 2021 and was recently engaged to be married, Toutant writes. Jackson died when his car collided with a jackknifed tractor-trailer on Interstate 476 in Carbon County, Pennsylvania.

DOZENS OF LAWYERS – At least 27 lawyers from six firms now appear on the docket in the court battle between Twitter and Elon Musk, Patrick Smith reports. Three more law firms entered the fray in recent days, with attorneys issuing dozens of subpoenas to big banks and others—an indication of each side's growing legal bill. In Delaware litigation over whether Musk should be compelled to complete his $44 billion buy of Twitter, both sides have enlisted conflict counsel, Smith writes. Twitter has turned to Am Law 200 firm Kobre & Kim, while Musk has retained Delaware firm Chipman, Brown, Cicero & Cole. Meanwhile, Twitter has also engaged several litigators from Ballard Spahr. That's in addition to the parties' other firms, with Twitter retaining Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati; and Potter Anderson & Corroon. Musk is leaning on Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan.

EDITOR'S PICKS

M&A Lawyers Turn to Client Relationship Building and Strategy By Patrick Smith