Attorney Rahul Mukhi files notice of appearance to represent Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse in the SEC lawsuit.
Ripple Labs’ CEO Brad Garlinghouse has recently added another prominent lawyer to his legal team amid the ongoing SEC lawsuit.
In a tweet yesterday, pro-XRP lawyer James K. Filan reported that Attorney Rahul Mukhi of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP officially filed an appearance to represent Ripple CEO in the lawsuit.
“Please take notice that Rahul Mukhi of the law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP hereby appears in the [SEC v. Ripple] action as counsel for defendant Bradley Garlinghouse,” an excerpt of the filing read.
#XRPCommunity #SECGov v. #Ripple #XRP Attorney Rahul Mukhi, of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, has filed his Appearance on Behalf of @bgarlinghouse. Attorney Mukhi’s bio is below.https://t.co/n4K0cVQTHz pic.twitter.com/Tq7AXe2Ssa
— James K. Filan 🇺🇸🇮🇪 (@FilanLaw) September 25, 2023
Mukhi’s Legal Expertise to Bolster Garlinghouse’s Defense
It bears mentioning that Attorney Mukhi is a prominent lawyer, leading multiple cases relating to international organized crime, public corruption, money laundering, and cybercrime.
He specializes in securities, criminal, and regulatory cases. It is interesting to note that Attorney Mukhi has significant experience in jury trials.
According to his profile on Cleary Gottlieb, Mukhi conducted 10 trials while he worked as an Assistant Attorney in the Southern District of New York (SDNY).
Notably, Mukhi’s experience in jury trials will come in handy as Ripple CEO gears up for the upcoming trial in the SEC case.
Upcoming Trial in SEC v. Ripple
Recall that the court scheduled SEC’s case against Garlinghouse and Ripple chairman Chris Larsen for trial. The proceeding is expected to commence by Q2 2024, and the parties have already submitted their blackout dates.
The SEC filed aiding and abetting charges against Ripple execs, alleging that they were reckless in allowing the blockchain company to distribute XRP as an unregistered security.
A federal court had already ruled that XRP itself is not a security. The court also declared that most of Ripple’s transactions, including programmatic sales of XRP, do not constitute investment contracts.
Despite the ruling, Garlinghouse is hoping to seal another victory in the upcoming trial, scheduled for Q2 2024.
SEC Pursuing Interlocutory Appeal
While Garlinghouse is preparing for the upcoming trial, the SEC, on the other hand, is seeking an interlocutory appeal. Furthermore, the SEC also requested a stay of other issues related to the lawsuit, including the trial, pending the resolution of the interlocutory appeal.
The court has yet to issue its decision on the SEC’s request for an interlocutory appeal and stay of other proceedings.
Meanwhile, the development comes over a month after two lawyers from the same law firm also filed a notice of appearance to represent Garlinghouse in the legal tussle.