Elon Musk (Photo by Diego Donamaria/Getty Images for SXSW)
I know the headline seems like a weird Mad Libs moment [Biglaw Firm] Quotes [Musician] Representing [Controversial Billionaire] — but it’s true. Alex Spiro, partner in the New York office of Quinn Emanuel where he co-chairs the Investigations, Government Enforcement & White Collar Defense practice, decided to spice up his briefing in Elon Musk’s legal battle with the Securities Exchange Commission. He quoted Eminem, subbing out the rapper’s beef with the FCC with Musk’s issues with the SEC, from the 2002 hit, Without Me.
“The (SEC) won’t let me be or let me be me so let me see; They tried to shut me down,” he wrote.
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Musk is trying to have his 2018 consent decree with the SEC, which requires preapproval from the agency before tweeting, thrown out. His saltiness over the issue is legendary in Biglaw, and Spiro focused on the First Amendment issue in his brief:
“First Amendment requires that agencies proceed with caution when constitutional rights are at stake, not seek to pursue any and all novel theories that broaden their authority at the cost of individual freedom.”
Spiro is a white collar star, known for taking on high profile celebrity clients like Jay-Z, NBA player Thabo Sefolosha, rapper Bobby Shmurda, Aaron Hernandez and more. So perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that his writing can really capture an audience’s attention.
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Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).