Andrea Tantoros, former Fox News anchor.

Well that didn't last long.

A mere two months after entering a notice of appearance, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius is out as counsel to former Fox News host Andrea Tantaros in her sexual harassment and illegal electronic surveillance suit against the television network and social media pioneer Peter Snyder.

Still, that's practically long-term compared to the tenure of her other lawyer, Tor Ekeland, whose New York-based firm specializes in complex computer and technology cases. He signed on to represent Tantaros on Jan. 16, but will file a notice of withdrawal on Jan. 31, he said in an email. He declined to say why.

As first reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Tantaros, who co-hosted the show “Outnumbered,” is now proceeding pro se in the fight.

The reason, she wrote in a letter to U.S. District Judge George Daniels in Manhattan on Jan. 29, is “for the simple fact that some stories can only be properly articulated and accurately explained by the ones who have walked in the shoes that have led them down a particularly challenging road. At times, even the finest lawyers in America cannot contextualize exactly what this company has done to so many people, and exactly what has transpired behind the curtain at Fox News.”

Morgan Lewis partner Christopher Parlo did not respond to a request for comment, but in a letter to the judge on Jan. 29, he made one thing clear: “Our firm is not the author of and is not counsel on the proposed Amended Complaint or its attachments. We will, however, assist Ms. Tantaros in her transition to pro se status.”

You get the sense Parlo didn't much enjoy his work on the case, which I previously called “a hornet's nest.” He picked it up after Judd Burstein, who runs a five-lawyer litigation boutique, withdrew in September due to “an irretrievable breakdown in the attorney-client relationship.”

Soon after Parlo was retained, the Morgan Lewis partner wrote to the judge that “Respectfully, in my nearly 30 years of practice I have never seen a group of lawyers so quick to threaten sanctions against other members of the bar or who would try to use our response to such threats to seek an advantage with this court in other pending motions (and all without giving the court the full background and context).”

So who are these sanctions-happy lawyers? Two of the best-known, most-respected litigators in the country, Dechert's Andrew Levander (named a Litigator of the Year by The American Lawyer in December of 2017) for Fox, and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher litigation practice co-chair Randy Mastro for Snyder and his company Disrupter Inc.

But this isn't a typical case. Reading the court filings, it's apparent that the defendants are apoplectic—way more than usual—about Tantaros's allegations.

Not so much the sexual harassment part (I mean c'mon, she worked for Fox under Roger Ailes). No. it's the illegal surveillance and hacking allegations, which also give Tantaros an opening to duck her employment arbitration clause and bring her case in federal court.

But she's got a point that Fox parent News Corp. has crossed lines like these before. Remember the UK phone hacking scandal, where News of the World journalists hacked the phone of celebrities, royalty and murder victims? Or this NPR story, detailing allegations of computer hacking by News America Marketing against competitors including Floorgraphics?

Tantaros wrote, “[T]he Defendants' have resorted to their standard modus operandi of incessant intimidation and hysteria by imposing, threatening and attempting to frighten every lawyer who seeks to illuminate the truth of the illegal behavior which has occurred at Fox News … by seeking the highly atypical, draconian legal tactic of seeking Rule 11 sanctions.”

It sounds pretty convincing. Except Tantaros is not a lawyer—she majored in French and journalism—and now she's representing herself against Levander and Mastro, as well as Thompson & Knight's Marion Bachrach.

David and Goliath is one thing, but this?  It's David versus three Goliaths plus a battalion of Big Law lawyers.

 

Baker Botts, Take a Bow

Forget “Not guilty.” The best wins are the cases that never get brought.

Alas, they often entail scant glory for the lawyers.

So in that spirit, I salute Baker Botts partners Michael Goldberg and Russell Lewis for convincing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to close its investigation into the Angolan operations of client Cobalt International Energy without taking action.

The SEC began its investigation in March of 2017. According to the Financial Times, the agency was looking into Cobalt's deal with BP to jointly fund a $350 million research center to be run by Angola's state oil company which, after five years of payments, still hadn't materialized.

So yes, it's not terribly difficult to see why this might catch a regulator's attention. (Ahem, FCPA anyone?) Nor was it Cobalt's first time under scrutiny. The company was previously investigated by the SEC and the Department of Justice in 2011. The SEC closed that case in 2015 and the DOJ in 2017, both without taking action.

Now, Cobalt is off the hook once again, thanks to Baker Botts—at least until next time.

 

What I'm Reading

Securities Class Actions Hit Record Levels in 2017, Studies Say

Cornerstone Research found that three law firms—The Rosen Law Firm and Pomerantz, both in New York, and Los Angeles-based Glancy Prongay & Murray—were driving the increase in filings.

Mulvaney's CFPB Turns Down Loan Company's Bid to Reshape Settlement

Hey whatd'ya know, the CFPB didn't just roll over.

Court of Appeal Reignites Age Discrimination Suit Against Tinder

Older users get charged twice as much. “Old” in the Tinder universe is 30, by the way.

'Extreme,' 'Vicious' Trump Statements Put DACA Decision on a Different Level, Judge Says

Gee, I wonder how U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis is going to rule?

As Waymo v. Uber Trial Nears, Judge Highlights MoFo's Awkward Role

“If it comes up, I don't want you to say, 'Oh judge, you have to exclude that because we're trial counsel,'” U.S. District Judge William Alsup told MoFo's Arturo González, one of Uber's lead lawyers on the case.

Fort Lauderdale Lawyers Win Nearly $71 Million Verdict for Yacht Rape Victim

The award includes $60 million for future suffering after the 20-year-old female steward was raped by deckhand who had returned from a night of drinking.

Amazon Moves to Close Courthouse Door to Claims Over Defective Solar Eclipse Glasses

Or you could just not wear eclipse glasses and look directly at the sun, like certain presidents. #MAGA.