By Justin Wise
A Kyle Roche-founded law firm severed ties with the lawyer after a website called Crypto Leaks posted secret recordings of him talking about targeting rivals of a blockchain developer through litigation.
Roche no longer has an equity stake in Freedman Normand Friedland, renamed from Roche Freedman, according to a firm statement. “We wish Kyle the best in his future endeavors,” the statement said.
The firm declined to answer questions about the separation. Roche did not immediately return a phone call requesting a comment.
Roche’s exit comes after a judge Oct. 13 kicked the law firm off a class action accusing the crypto exchange Bitfinex and affiliate Tether of manipulating prices. Roche in the recordings posted in August discusses his relationship with blockchain developer Ava Labs and using litigation as a tactic to target competition.
Emin Gun Sirer, chief executive officer of Ava Labs, has said his company isn’t targeting rivals. Roche made false statements about his relationship with Ava Labs to impress potential business partners, he has said.
Roche and Devin “Velvel” Freedman left their jobs at prominent litigation shop Boies Schiller to start a boutique in 2019 focused on practices including crypto and cannabis litigation.
The firm, with more than 20 lawyers in New York, Miami and Boston, has been behind more than a dozen proposed class actions against crypto exchanges and token issuers.
Roche was entitled to 19% of firm equity as of January 2020, according to a partnership agreement revealed in court as part of a dispute between Roche Freedman and a former equity partner.
The agreement noted that Roche retained Ava Labs as a client in 2019 and that the company had agreed to distribute some tokens to the firm’s partners in exchange for legal services.
Roche is no longer a shareholder in Ava Labs and has stopped serving as its outside counsel, Sirer said in a Sept. 13 post on the website Medium. The company has also begun winding down its relationship with the firm Roche co-founded, a person from the company familiar with the matter said last week.
After the recordings were posted, the firm unsuccessfully fought disqualification motions in the Bitfinex/Tether action from both defendants and its co-counsel.
Katherine Polk Failla, a judge in the Southern District of New York, ruled Oct. 13 that the firm continuing to participate in the case with the “metaphorical baggage” it now has wouldn’t be in the best interests of the proposed class.
The firm faces termination motions in at least four different cases, according to federal court filings.
Along with original co-founder Freedman, the new name partners at the rebranded firm are Edward Normand and Amos Friedland, both former Boies Schiller attorneys.
“We are focused on continuing to provide our clients with top quality representation and are proud of the firm’s accomplishments to date,” the firm statement said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Justin Wise at jwise@bloombergindustry.com
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Chris Opfer at copfer@bloomberglaw.com; John Hughes at jhughes@bloombergindustry.com
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