Bethesda changes law firm.. but not lawyers (Updated)

WorstUsernameEver

WorstUsernameEver

But best title ever!
The performance of Bethesda's lawyers in the Interplay vs Bethesda litigation over the Fallout MMO rights hasn't been so brilliant so far, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that Bethesda has decided to change them. Here's what the latest filings say:<blockquote>The Clerk will please withdraw effective February 1, 2011, the appearance of Jennifer Quinn-Barabanov, Rachel M. Hofstatter, Michael J. Allan and Steptoe & Johnson LLP as counsel for the Plaintiff/Counter-Defendant, Bethesda Softworks, LLC, in the above-referenced matter, in light of the appearance of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP.


PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that Dougls W. Baruch (MD Bar No. 12554) is entering his appearance as co-counsel for Plaintiff/Counter-Defendant Bethesda Softworks, LLC.</blockquote>That said, it's the second time that happens, so the question everyone's going to ask himself is: have they picked the right firm this time?

Update: Turns out Bethesda changed law firm.. but not lawyers. The lead counsel on the case, Howard H. Stahl, moved to another law firm, and Bethesda's change of law firm was done only to keep him as their lead counsel for the case.

Thanks Ausir.
 
I think the question is are they brain damaged or something ?

If they can't win with 2 firms , how in the hell are they going to win with the third one ? Lady luck ?
 
That's really interesting. When I used to do litigation support as a CPA the handful of times I was fired because my opinion was "You are Wrong and are Going to Lose," so settle.

So they'd fire me for someone who was willing to take the money and help the attorneys litigate a case that couldn't be won. I was, smugly I might add, proved right each time.
 
I guess this could continue until either the lawyers or the judges get tired of it.

Or until Interplay finally dies the final death.
 
LinkPain said:
I think the question is are they brain damaged or something ?

If they can't win with 2 firms , how in the hell are they going to win with the third one ? Lady luck ?
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Well the first firm was so incompetent it was hilarious, don't think they count as a real firm. Shame they ditched that one as it was more interesting to read.
 
Alphadrop said:
Well the first firm was so incompetent it was hilarious, don't think they count as a real firm. Shame they ditched that one as it was more interesting to read.
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Interesting thing that Ausir notes in the Vault piece, is that the first law firm was actually the biggest one by far.
But yeah, their performance was laughable. I wouldn't say the second one did much better, though. I mean "we just gave you the rights to do a game with the Fallout name"? Seriously?
 
The comedy continues!

WorstUsernameEver said:
Interesting thing that Ausir notes in the Vault piece, is that the first law firm was actually the biggest one by far.
But yeah, their performance was laughable. I wouldn't say the second one did much better, though. I mean "we just gave you the rights to do a game with the Fallout name"? Seriously?
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The first firm didn't know the case or the materials at all, making them either completely incompetent or lazy. The second firm seemed to know the case and the materials reasonably well, they just liked the shotgun approach which involved filing numerous baseless (frivolous) claims, which may be been due to some pressure.
 
WorstUsernameEver said:
But yeah, their performance was laughable. I wouldn't say the second one did much better, though. I mean "we just gave you the rights to do a game with the Fallout name"? Seriously?
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Maybe the cases are laughable...if Bethesda had such a strong case then I can't imagine one of the best law firms in the U.S would have fluffed it. :roll:

It feels like Bethesda are desperate to crush Interplay into the earth, even though Interplay has passed them one of the most lucrative gaming deals of all time.
 
The Dutch Ghost said:
I guess this could continue until either the lawyers or the judges get tired of it.

Or until Interplay finally dies the final death.
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Or until they run out of law firms to hire :roll: That'd take a while though.
 
It seems to me that constantly changing your firm will only weaken your case after a while.


If nothing else it makes the idea that Bethesda was acting in bad faith seem more credible if they are constantly switching gears and trying to chaff the whole lawsuit with law firm changes and frivolous claims.
 
Do they somehow win time this way?
Maybe time is running against interplay and they want to wear them down. I mean as long as the lawsuit runs basically every investment has some kind of risk. I can also imagine that it's harder for interplay to find investors as long as it runs.
 
Maybe with a new firm they have excuses to make similar arguments without being called out on for just repeating nonsense.
 
It should not be allowed for a company or any individual to change legal representatives during a trial of this nature. The whole thing puts a strain on the system.
 
Kordanor said:
Do they somehow win time this way?
Maybe time is running against interplay and they want to wear them down. I mean as long as the lawsuit runs basically every investment has some kind of risk. I can also imagine that it's harder for interplay to find investors as long as it runs.
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Maybe they're hoping Interplay will run out of money to pay its lawyers *shrug*.
 
I think the reason is pretty obvious.

Bethesda is just superstitious, and third time is a charm, isn't it?
 
Update: It turns out that Bethesda did not really change their lawyers this time like they did a year ago. While they changed the law firm, it was because their lead counsel on the case, Howard H. Stahl, previously of Steptoe & Johnson, has moved to Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson.
 
Wait, so it's the same lawyers just operating under a different name?

Or did I misread that.
 
The head lawyer on the case is the same, he just left his original law firm and joined another one, so Bethesda decided to switch firms, since otherwise they'd have to change their lead lawyer.
 
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