A former defense counsel for Chevron foe Steven Donziger has hired his own lawyer to fight the possibility he’ll have to represent the disbarred attorney at a criminal contempt trial slated to begin this month, according to an email obtained by Law360.
Donziger, who helped win a roughly $9.5 billion judgment against Chevron Corp. in Ecuador that the oil company says was fraudulently obtained, is facing trial Sept. 9 on criminal contempt charges that had their origins in that litigation. Donziger was recently disbarred in New York, against the recommendation of a referee, and is suspended in Washington, D.C.
Donziger’s former lead trial lawyer, Andrew Frisch, was granted a conditional withdrawal in July. But U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska, who is overseeing the criminal case, added him back to the counsel listing late Friday after disqualifying two of Donziger’s other lawyers due to potential conflicts.
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