Alex Spiro, a prominent lawyer whose clients include Elon Musk and Jay-Z, is defending Mayor Eric Adams in a lawsuit accusing him of sexually assaulting a colleague more than 30 years ago. will cooperate with.
Spiro, a partner at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and a go-to attorney for wealthy individuals facing legal challenges, served as co-counsel in the lawsuit brought by Lorna Beach-Matula. He was hired by the Justice Department on Monday.
Mr Adams strongly denied Mr Beech-Mathula’s claim that he assaulted her in 1993 when the two worked at a traffic police station and said he had no recollection of meeting her. .
Spiro, 41, has served as an advisor to many celebrities, including Alec Baldwin, Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Megan Thee Stallion and Jay-Z. He was reportedly a member of Mr. Musk’s inner circle and represented the billionaire businessman who was trying to buy and overhaul Twitter, now called X.
The celebrity lawyer is said to charge some high-end clients $2,000 an hour, but his law firm plans to charge the city $250 an hour for partners and $175 an hour for associates, according to the Department of Justice. .
“In some cases, the Department of Justice may hire outside firms to provide assistance during litigation,” said Nicholas Paucci, a Department of Justice spokesman. “We have asked the firm of Quinn Emanuel to serve as co-counsel and assist the City and Mayor’s representatives in this matter so that the Department of Justice can best utilize existing resources on many other matters. I did.”
Calls to Spiro were not returned.
This surprising move comes as Adams’ corporate attorney, Sylvia Hines Raddix (who will continue to be a member of his legal team), argued that taxpayers should pay for the mayor’s compensation because he was a city employee at the time of the allegations. This was done a few weeks after the decision was made. .
“Corporate law firms employ approximately 750 attorneys to represent the city and city employees in this situation. That’s how it’s done,” Hines Radix said. He spoke to reporters at City Hall on March 19th.
The bombshell lawsuit, filed in mid-March, alleges that Mr. Adams used his power as leader of the New York City Transit Authority Parents Association to promote Mr. Beech-Maturla, instead of pressuring her to perform oral sex on him. are doing.
When she declined the man’s advances, Adams placed his hand on his “erect penis” before she let go, and the man “ejaculated into her” while they were in the patrol car, according to the complaint. claims.
Beach-Matula’s first notice of claim was filed in November under New York’s Adult Survivors Act, just as the old claim filing window was closing.
“That never happened. I have no recollection of meeting this person during my time on the police force,” Adams said after the graphic details emerged last month.
Hines Radix called the allegations “outrageous”.
