BUMP
Veronica has hired celebrity first amendment attorney Marc Randazza to defend her in this case.
https://twitter.com/Angry_Polak/status/1347443149472350209
https://twitter.com/marcorandazza/status/1347530621149728769
https://twitter.com/marcorandazza/status/1347530272250732544
https://twitter.com/marcorandazza/status/1347619367878594563
Randazza has appeared on CNN and other broadcast media as a first amendment expert. He mainly defends first amendment cases.
Shortly after I broke the news of the Postle lawsuit on October 1, someone contacted me (not affiliated with this case on either side) and recommended Randazza. This person suggested that I go in with a group of other case defendants who were considering hiring Randazza together, in order to avoid duplicate work and save money. I said I would consider it, but ultimately went with Eric Bensamochan, as he is both a personal friend and friend of PFA Radio. I also knew Eric was a very competent attorney, from my various discussions with him over the years, both on and off radio.
Anyway, Randazza did seem like a good choice also, though I'm always a bit leery of any celebrity type option in any industry, as they are often more about show than results. I will say that Randazza did a great job for Scott Roeben (VitalVegas), in the lawsuit from the Sahara, where Roeben ultimately prevailed in his anti-SLAPP motion.
However, Randazza is not without his own blemishes.
First, he was suspended for 12 months from the Nevada State Bar in 2018, over ethics and conflict of interest violations: https://www.nvbar.org/wp-content/uploads/Randazza.pdf
Here's a video on that. Dude in the video looks like Micon.
Of note, the suspension was for 12 months, but it was held back for another 18 months, and was to likely be dismissed if he didn't screw up again. Indeed, 18 months did complete in April 2020, and Randazza seems to have had that lifted.
The record therefore establishes that Randazza violated the above-listed rules by loaning money to his client without informing the client in writing of the desirability of obtaining independent counsel, and by negotiating with opposing counsel to receive, as part of a settlement, a retainer for future legal services.
He also got disciplined (but not suspended) in California, in January 2020. It is not clear if this was over the same matter: http://members.calbar.ca.gov/fal/Licensee/Detail/269535
It doesn't appear that any of this stuff is super serious, but his recent record definitely isn't blemish-free.
Anyway, Randazza attempted to file his own anti-SLAPP motion on behalf of Brill, but it got rejected by the court:
It appears that it was rejected due to an appearance fee not being paid. However, this might just be an oversight committed by a third-party service which Randazza might have been using.Motion to Strike (Anti Slapp Special Motion to Strike Complaint) submitted by Brill, Veronica rejected on 01/11/2021 .
As soon as her anti-SLAPP gets accepted and successfully filed, I will post it here. I will be interested to see how it compares to the one I filed.