Judge Unseals Decision Disqualifying Sidley's James Cole From Huawei Defense
"The decision to disqualify an attorney in a criminal case is not made lightly," U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly said in a ruling unsealed Tuesday in the Eastern District of New York.
February 25, 2020 at 07:21 PM
5 minute read
A New York federal trial judge on Tuesday partially unsealed a ruling that provided the court's basis for stopping Sidley Austin partner James Cole, a former Obama-era Justice Department leader, from serving as a defender for the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei in a U.S. criminal case.
U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly's order in December disqualifying Cole from participating in the case did not explain her reasoning. Much of the dispute involving Cole's participation has unfolded under seal in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Donnelly's unsealed order only disqualified Cole, based on his prior work at the Justice Department, and not Sidley Austin itself.
"This is not a situation in which disqualifying Mr. Cole will require the defendants to retain new counsel, who would then need to familiarize themselves with the case," Donnelly wrote in her order. "Mr. Cole is one of a large team of able lawyers, some of whom are former prosecutors, from respected law firms."
The Justice Department sought Cole's disqualification based on his role in an investigation that unfolded during his service as deputy attorney general at Main Justice, a position he held from 2010 to 2015. Cole, according to the DOJ, "personally supervised and participated in" an investigation that prosecutors said was "directly implicated" in the criminal charges against Huawei. The government has not revealed the substance of the earlier investigation, and details about that case were redacted from Donnelly's unsealed order.
The disqualification of a lawyer based on prior government service is rare. Lawyers can be prohibited in other instances from representing more than one defendant in the same criminal case. In a pending case in Chicago's federal trial court, the Justice Department has raised questions about whether a partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom should be disqualified based on his previous role as the enforcement director at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
A representative from Huawei did not immediately comment Tuesday evening, and Cole, global co-leader of Sidley Austin's white-collar government investigations and litigation practice, was not immediately reached for comment.
Sidley Austin lawyers argued that the earlier Justice Department investigation that involved Cole did not share "identical" or "essentially the same" facts as the Huawei matter in Brooklyn's federal district court. The law firm also argued that the government had waived any conflict because prosecutors waited until after the indictment was unsealed before seeking to disqualify Cole.
Donnelly said in her order she did not take "lightly" the disqualification of a lawyer in a criminal case.
"Disqualification of an attorney based on his former government service can 'create an unwarranted disincentive to government service' if former government employees are overly restricted in future private practice," Donnelly wrote.
Donnelly concluded that Cole "had immediate access to [redacted] classified and confidential information substantially related to this case." She added: "The fact that Mr. Cole has 'no recollection of the matters' does not change the analysis." Cole's memory, the judge said, "about the details of the investigation he supervised might very well be refreshed as the case progresses."
Huawei was charged in a superseding indictment in January 2019 with various crimes, including conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud. Prosecutors earlier this month unveiled additional charges including conspiracy to steal trade secrets. The company has called the charges "political persecution, plain and simple."
"None of our products or technologies have been developed through the theft of trade secrets. Huawei's development is the result of our huge investment in R&D and the hard work of our employees over the past three decades," Huawei said in a statement Feb. 14.
Huawei, the world's largest telecommunications equipment manufacturer, is still represented by a team from Sidley Austin, including white-collar partners Michael Levy in New York and Mark Hopson in Washington. Huawei is also represented by a team from Jenner & Block, including partner David Bitkower in Washington. In December, Huawei said Steptoe & Johnson LLP will serve as additional defense counsel in the Brooklyn case.
The company has additionally turned to lawyers from Jones Day and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius in other matters involving disputes with the U.S. government.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All'Possible Harm'?: Winston & Strawn Will Appeal Unfavorable Ruling in NASCAR Antitrust Lawsuit
3 minute read3 GOP States Join Paid Sick Leave Movement, Passing Ballot Measures by Wide Margins
5 minute readWilmer, Miles & Stockbridge, and Polsinelli Hire Litigation, Government Contract Attorneys
2 minute readLaw Firms Mentioned
Trending Stories
- 1Trump's Lawyers Speak Out: 'The President Had the Confidence to Retain Me'
- 2Who Should Pay? Insurer Wants No Part of $30M Sexual Abuse Settlement
- 3Passenger Sues Frontier Airlines for Burns Sustained From In-Flight Beverage
- 4Who Are Trump's Potential Candidates for Attorney General?
- 5Drugmaker Wins $70.5M After Fed Judge Says Generic Sales Were Blocked
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250