Famed attorney David Boies severs legal ties with Theranos

The Wall Street Journal ^ | Nov 20, 2016 4:23 p.m. ET | By John Carreyrou

[CorporateStepsister]

Litigator David Boies and the law firm he founded, Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP, have stopped doing legal work for Theranos Inc. after disagreeing about the strategy for handling ongoing government investigations of the blood-testing company, according to people familiar with the matter.

Boies, 75, has been one of the country’s best-known litigators since the late 1990s. He became Theranos’s outside counsel after being approached in 2011 by two investors in the Palo Alto, Calif., startup. He fiercely defended Theranos against questions about its technology and operations.

Read: ‘Fraud is not a trade secret’: How a 27-year-old blew the whistle on Theranos

Those efforts included threatening to take legal action against The Wall Street Journal during the months before it published in October 2015 its first article detailing problems at Theranos.

[Pearls Before Swine]

It’s a losing side, when Theranos gets sued. Boies wants a shot at being a winner, as he often is.

[PAR35]

Did the check bounce? Number one reason a lawyer dumps a client.

Number 2 reason? Client plans to lie under oath, and the attorney knows.

[Bob]

Or the client has committed fraud and lied to the attorney about it.

[BRL]

I love it when a powerful arrogant sociopathic pinhead goes down in flames

[DIRTYSECRET]

This the hottie?

[BRL]

The hottie indeed. A 19 year old genius who never took the time to learn or think about proper scientific procedure or ethics

[PAR35]

No, if she did it before she told the attorney, he could still take the fee. And the attorney shouldn’t have to worry about future malpractice claims. “If she had leveled with me, she wouldn’t have ended up where she did”.

[CorporateStepsister]

I look forward to her testimony, hearing her on the stand will be entertaining as she tries to confound the jury.

[CorporateStepsister]

I wonder who she poinked in order to get all that money/investors and basically have a free ride in the media. She’s attractive, loony, and likely fabulous in bed as a result.

[CorporateStepsister]

It could also be that the client is such a lunatic that defending her would be literally impossible. She won’t be likely to listen to advice and she’s coming across more and more insane. Chances are she’s going to get other charges and I am certain that this won’t be the end of her time in court since after all, more people will speak about her intimidation tactics.

[CorporateStepsister]

Exactly. This is quite another blow to the lunatic at Theranos.

[correctthought]

Isn’t he the one who always litigates close elections for the democrats, like franken(steins) found box o’ ballots, or manbearpigs attempt to steal Florida?

Guess the CEO’s future as a dem donor was limited.

[CorporateStepsister]

New article about Theranos.

[CorporateStepsister]

I wouldn’t know. Either way, she’s sunk. I wonder if she’s done herself in yet, it would explain the silence on her part.

[ConorMacNessa]

It starts:

From Wikipedia:

"Mattis is a board member of Theranos, a controversial Silicon Valley biotech company with criticized corporate governance practices.[42] On December 2, 2015, The Washington Post reported that the exploration of a partnership and possible field test with the Department of Defense had led to issues being found with the company's blood testing device and a request that the FDA investigate. The CEO of Theranos reached out to Mattis via email to see if he could help with this matter with the Department of Defense. Mattis put his support behind Theranos and via subsequent emails asked how the current obstacle could be overcome. After Mattis' retirement he joined the board of directors of Theranos. In a letter from the Department of Defense approving his future and possible employment by Theranos, Mattis was given permission with conditions. He was cautioned to do so only if he did not represent Theranos with regards to the blood testing device and its potential acquisition by the Departments of the Navy or Defense.[43]"

"Riamh nár dhruid ó sbairn lann!"

[gaijin]

I was shocked and pretty disappointed George Schultz cast out his grandson for DOING THE RIGHT THING.

I sorta liked that old guy, too bad. I can’t think of him in the same way, now

I would like to think that the successful ones are more or less honest and that the young honest ones somehow get ahead in the end.

It hasn’t yet ended, but it looks like the only good thing that will come out of this is that this young, cruel Megalomaniac will finally get HERS.

[Read Write Repeat]

Theranos was the biotech venture capital Dyson vacuum cleaner, and Boies knows a sucker when he meets one.

[KevinB]

The hottie indeed. A 19 year old genius who never took the time to learn or think about proper scientific procedure or ethics

I don't think she's hot or a genius. Of course, I'm aware that reasonable minds could differ.

[Secret Agent Man]

Number two, not quite right.

2. Client plans to lie, lawyer knows, but knows client wont be believed or doesnt think they can win even with the lies.