Renowned litigator Morgan Chu, famed for his many courtroom victories and previously coined as Irell & Manella’s “$5 billion man”, has recently been named the lead attorney for a new lawsuit initiated by Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The lawsuit has been filed against OpenAI and technology tycoon Sam Altman. Chu, along with fellow Irell litigation partners Alan Heinrich and Iain Jablon, as well as associates Abigail Sellers and Justin Koo, serve as Musk’s external counsel in this ongoing dispute. (Bloomberg Law)
The lawsuit, lodged with a California state court in San Francisco, alleges that OpenAI and Altman have strayed from their original mission. OpenAI, co-founded by Musk and Altman in 2015, had professed dedication to creating artificial intelligence for the benefit of all mankind. Musk, who resigned from OpenAI’s board three years after its founding due to potential conflicts of interest with Tesla Inc., alleges that the company and its CEO are now pursuing profit rather than their initial purpose. (Bloomberg Law)
Irell & Manella’s previous engagements with Tesla involved the successful dismissal of a shareholder class action in 2017. The law firm has also managed other conflicts for Tesla, including a patent battle over mobile broadband technology. (Bloomberg Law)
In recent events, Musk has founded a new AI venture of his own, named xAI. This new project is part of his collection of businesses often referred to as the “Muskonomy”. (Bloomberg Law)