Rudy Giuliani’s Choice — This or That?
Rudy Giuliani hired a law firm named Pierce Bainbridge Beck Price & Hecht LLP for the Ukraine fiasco. The firm imploded over the next several months and has been accused of severe corruption. Which begs the question: Was Rudy G. duped or did he know what he was getting into?
- “In choosing Governor Sarah Palin for his running mate, John McCain has chosen for the future.” — Rudolph Giuliani
In choosing Pierce Bainbridge, perhaps Rudy thought he’d chosen the law firm for the future. After all, firm founder John M. Pierce boasted “we have cracked the code for building the law firm in the digital age.”
If so, just like with Palin, Rudy thought wrong. Spectacularly wrong.
Palin talked of “Right-wingin’, bitter-clingin’, proud clingers of our guns, our God, and our religions and our Constitution.”
Pierce, who’s law firm won 1 trial in 3+ years (with a net verdict of $500K), has his own version of macho-talk:
Everybody Leaves Pierce
When Rudy hired Pierce Bainbridge in November 2019, Pierce had previously talked of “global domination.”
By June 2020, the firm had basically failed, around 60-attorneys had abandoned ship, even all of the other name-partners quit:
James D. Bainbridge (Bainbridge Law APC)
Carolynn K. Beck (Goldstein & McClintock LLLP)
Max Price for (Hecht Partners LLP)
David L. Hecht (Hecht Partners LLP)
The Delusional Hot Air
Pierce, and his sidekick Hecht, likely blew the hottest Pierce Bainbridge air. Ex-Partner Christopher N. LaVigne (Withers Bergman) opined on the duo’s relationship; the description involved dogs, tossing, roofs and strategy. . .
The bombast from Pierce and Hecht was thick:
- “Nothing and no one is going to stop us. We have cracked the code for building the law firm in the digital age” — John Pierce, October 30, 2018
- “We are building an army of killers on a highly collaborative platform. . .we have a culture obsessed with winning . . .” — John Pierce, January 3, 2019
- “[T]he firm has been able to run circles around our adversaries. It’s clear that we have intimidated those other firms with our agility and resourcefulness.” — David L. Hecht, January 8, 2019
- “[W]e are fixated on world domination. . .” — David L. Hecht, January 8, 2019
- “These folks are seeing that we have better cases, get better results. . .” — John Pierce, January 3, 2019
The Dubious Operations
Pierce and Hecht fell embarrasingly short of backing up their bravado; instead the firm has been accused of:
- Quintuple-pledging collateral. Tens of millions in cash from lenders were received by repeatedly pledging the same collateral; most of the debt remains unpaid.
- Fraud on courts. Accused of committing fraud on courts.
- Lying under oath. Ex-partners Christopher N. LaVigne & Denver G. Edwards (Bradford Edwards & Varlack).
- Stiffing vendors. The firm apparently welched on $135K and less than $10K payment obligations to vendors.
The list goes on and on….
“He Ended Up in Jail”
Meanwhile, in September 2018, after a few meetings, an attorney for Oscar De La Hoya shared his views on Pierce’s potential future.
Was Rudy Giuliani Duped?
Giuliani may be several steps past his prime, but in his hey-day he was a force.
Is it credible that a guy with Rudy’s background was suckered by a low-budget operator like Pierce?
Did Rudy see Pierce Bainbridge, John Pierce and his “army of killers” as easy marks?
Did Rudy and his “good friend” John Pierce have a meeting of the unscrupulous minds?
A boatload of money appears to have vanished, the firm has imploded, questions abound, including. . .
Why did Rudy Giuliani choose Pierce Bainbridge Beck Price & Hecht?
(Bonus Video: A “video overview of the on goings at the Pierce Bainbridge Beck Price & Hecht law firm hired by Giuliani. Created by Jennifer Sulkess.)
