Judge Asks to See Musk Lawyer Spiro on Unlicensed Practice Claim

Elon Musk’s lawyer Alex Spiro of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP is strongly encouraged to appear in a Texas courtroom next week to address claims he defended Musk against defamation without permission from the court, a judge said Wednesday.

Although not formally ordering Spiro’s appearance at the May 7 hearing, “I don’t think it’s a bad idea for him to come,” Judge Maria Cantú Hexsel (D) of Texas’s 53rd Civil District Court in Travis County told Spiro’s associates.

Hexsel will decide if Spiro is barred from participating in a defamation case brought by a man alleging Musk falsely linked him to a Portland street brawl between groups of neo-Nazis in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Spiro, a partner based in Quinn Emanuel’s New York office, isn’t licensed to practice law in Texas and hasn’t been granted permission from the court to participate in this case. Yet, he appeared with Musk at a March deposition.

Spiro’s conduct at the deposition—during which opposing counsel says he aggressively interrupted their questions and instructed Musk to not answer certain ones—is the subject of a sanctions motion pending before Hexsel. The judge must also decide whether to reject a motion to dismiss containing Spiro’s signature, submitted four days before he formally asked the court for admission in the case.

Hexsel’s recommendation for Spiro to appear in her Austin courtroom came after Spiro’s co-counsel, John Bash, asked her to approve his participation in the case, defending his “distinguished career.” But if she’s inclined to reject his request, Bash said, Spiro first “wants a chance to address the court.”

Bash conceded “it would have been better” had the motion to dismiss been signed not by Spiro but co-counsel Emiliano Delgado, a Quinn Emanuel associate licensed in Texas who helped prepare the filing.

“No doubt,” Bash said. But imposing sanctions against Spiro or Delgado would be unfair, Bash said, noting that at the time of the filing Spiro had a reasonable expectation of being accepted in the case.

Spiro, who successfully defended Musk in a prior defamation case, is a go-to trial lawyer for celebrities facing trouble. Clients represented by the former Manhattan prosecutor include music giants Jay-Z and Mick Jagger, tennis star Naomi Osaka, and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

A finding that Spiro, 41, engaged in unauthorized practice of law could complicate his ability to participate in cases in other states in which he’s not licensed.

Wednesday’s proceeding was the continuation of a contentious hearing from last week in which Hexsel cautioned lawyers to cease making “uncivil” comments. They complied, giving Hexsel no reason to revive that admonishment.

Following next week’s proceeding—the hearing’s third installment—the judge could be ready to issue a slew of orders.

In addition to the three motions involving Spiro—his participation, sanctions, and the dismissal motion containing his signature—she must also decide a cross motion for sanctions. In that one, Musk’s lawyers say the sanctions claims brought by opposing counsel, Mark Bankston of Farrar & Ball LLP, are without merit and are asking for fees.

Another motion pending from Musk seeks to strike testimony from two expert witnesses Bankston wants to present to a jury.

Hexsel must also decide a participation request from Cory Struble, another out-of-state attorney from Quinn Emanuel hoping to join Musk’s legal team.

The case is Brody v. Musk, Tex. Dist. Ct., No. D-1-GN-23-006883, hearing 5/1/24.