Musk wins fight to keep lawyer Alex Spiro in Twitter trial

By Mike Scarcella

Dec 2 (Reuters) - Elon Musk has persuaded a judge that his longtime lawyer Alex Spiro can represent him in a shareholder lawsuit over the billionaire's 2022 Twitter acquisition even though he may be a trial witness in the case.

San Francisco-based U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in a ruling on Monday rejected the plaintiffs' objections that allowing Spiro to act as both advocate and witness would confuse jurors. The shareholders had argued that Spiro was “at the epicenter of virtually every important decision” during Musk’s pursuit of Twitter and later efforts to walk away from the deal.

Musk’s interest in keeping his chosen counsel, Breyer said, weighed against disqualification.

Spiro, his law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and lawyers for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The lawsuit claims Musk used misleading social media posts to drive down Twitter’s stock price to escape his $44 billion deal or negotiate a lower price for the platform, now renamed X. Musk has denied any wrongdoing.

Musk’s lawyers called the effort to disqualify Spiro a “Hail Mary” before a February 2026 trial, saying the investors waited too long to object to Spiro's role. Musk on Tuesday asked the court to push the trial back until March. His lawyers said Musk "has a highly confidential and personal pre-existing and immovable commitment" in late February that will not allow him to attend the trial and testify. The filing said the undisclosed matter was "sensitive" and can't be disclosed publicly.

The judge said Musk gave written consent for Spiro to serve as both attorney and witness and concluded that the plaintiffs failed to show how his dual role would harm them.

Breyer called concerns about jury confusion “generic” and said courts can manage risks with instructions and limits on questioning. He noted that other witnesses could cover most of the topics plaintiffs identified and questioned whether Spiro’s testimony was “genuinely needed.”

Spiro, with hourly rates of at least $3,000, has represented Musk in many cases and counts actor Alec Baldwin and New York Mayor Eric Adams among his other clients.

The case is Pampena v. Musk, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, No. 3:22-cv-05937.

For plaintiff: Joseph Cotchett and Mark Molumphy of Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy; and Francis Bottini and Albert Chang of Bottini & Bottini

For defendant: Alex Spiro, Jesse Bernstein, Michael Lifrak and Stephen Broome of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan

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