Ex-Trump lawyer Mukasey joins law firm Seyfarth Shaw

By David Thomas

Jan 5 (Reuters) - Criminal defense lawyer Marc Mukasey, whose clients have included U.S. President Donald Trump and FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder Sam Bankman-Fried, said on Monday that he is closing his small law firm and joining Seyfarth Shaw.

Mukasey will co-lead the Chicago-founded firm's trial practice from New York, Seyfarth said. Four other attorneys at Mukasey's firm are also joining the firm.

Mukasey said while his small firm, Mukasey Young, was successful, legal practice is changing to incorporate fast-moving technology like artificial intelligence.

"I want to be in a growth mode with people who have been thinking through technology and innovation for seven, 10, 12 years," Mukasey said.

Mukasey represented Trump in a 2019 lawsuit to stop Manhattan's district attorney from obtaining his tax returns. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Trump's claims that the subpoena was overly broad and amounted to political harassment, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up the case.

Mukasey and his fellow Mukasey Young partner, Torrey Young, were hired by Bankman-Fried for sentencing-related matters after the FTX founder was found guilty of stealing billions of dollars from the exchange's customers. Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison in March 2024.

Mukasey's current clients include Chauncey Billups, an NBA Hall of Fame member and coach of the Portland Trail Blazers. Billups had pleaded not guilty in a sweeping criminal case where he was accused of conspiring with the mafia to rig illicit poker games. Mukasey said all of his firm's current clients are coming with him to Seyfarth.

Mukasey's father served as attorney general under Republican President George W. Bush.