Elie replaces Black Friday lawyers
Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel replaces William Cowden LLC in representing indictee.
Chad Elie, one of the alleged payment processors indicted on Black Friday, has appointed a new law firm to represent him as counsel of record in his ongoing defence.
New York firm Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP has been brought in by Elie, replacing William Cowden LLC, who had represented him up to this point.
Three Kramer Levin attorneys – Barry H. Berke, Dani R. James and Jade A. Burns – filed their notice of appearance in the United States v PokerStars et al case yesterday.
The statement accompanying the substitution of counsel, signed by Berke, explains that: “Mr Elie has requested that Kramer Levin represent him in his action and has consented to the withdrawal of William Cowden.”
Elie, whose response is due on 23 January, filed a motion to dismiss last October at the same time as fellow indictee John Campos.
Federal judge Lewis Kaplan met with several prosecutors in New York in December to discuss the motions to dismiss, and concluded that “I think it’s extraordinarily unlikely that the entire indictment will be dismissed” – Elie and Campos could be set to go before a jury as soon as March.