The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a notice with the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York that it is withdrawing one of its lawyers, Pascale Guerrier, as a counsel of record in its ongoing lawsuit with blockchain payments firm Ripple Labs Inc.
The notice now highlights that while Guerrier is no longer with the prosecution, the regulator will continue to be represented by the other counsels of record in the ongoing legal tussle. Team reshuffling in high-profile legal cases such as that between Ripple Labs and the SEC is not uncommon, as putting their best foot forward at all times remains the goal.
The Ripple v. SEC legal brawl has gotten to a point where absolute stability on the part of their representative attorneys is crucial to the success both entities hope for at the end of the day.
The market regulator has filed an interlocutory appeal to the ruling from Judge Analisa Torres that states that trading of XRP on exchanges does not constitute securities and, as such, it has to bolster its team in a way that can help it sail through.
Like SEC, like Ripple Labs
Since the start of the lawsuit back in December 2020, there have been a lot of ups and downs in the case across the board. While the reshuffling notice by its team filed today might come as a surprise, Ripple Labs has gained prominence for changing and removing lawyers from its team.
With a robust budget for its defense, the payments firm appears to have a deep threshold for onboarding additional lawyers, who can have a resounding impact on its outcome at the end of the day. Should this decision be made, a similar notification will be filed with the court.
Arman Shirinyan
Tomiwabold Olajide
Yuri Molchan