The brewing courtroom battle between Twitter and Elon Musk is beginning to spill over into the highest ranks of Silicon Valley. As The New York Times reports, some 100 subpoenas have gone out across the Valley to "big-name banks (Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley), high-profile investors (Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia), well-known advisers, prominent companies that employ Twitter’s board members (Salesforce, Mastercard), and members of Mr. Musk’s entourage." Jack Dorsey and Larry Ellison also seem to have been included. 

• The forthcoming trial will no doubt be a collection of the who's-who in Big Tech

• "Every firm in the Valley is salivating like dogs trying to get in on that action," Carol Langford, a professor of legal ethics at the University of San Francisco, told The Times. Twitter has already hired Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; Potter Anderson & Corroon; Ballard Spahr; Kobre & Kim; and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.

• Meanwhile, Musk has retained: Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan; Chipman Brown Cicero & Cole; and Sheppard Mullin.

The Whistleblower

Among those subpoenaed for this case is Peiter "Mudge" Zatko, the former security chief for Twitter who exposed significant flaws in the company last week, notes The Verge. One of Zatko's allegations is that Twitter downplayed bot activity on its platform — which is precisely the claim Musk made when he pulled out of the acquisition deal. However, Twitter's current CEO, Parag Agrawal, denies Zatko's claims, calling them a "false narrative."  

The Verdict

The sheer dollar amount of legal fees set to be billed over this case is staggering to think about. However, with the addition of Zatko's bombshell claims, the strength of Musk's case may in fact be mounting.