29-04-2025
Google beefs up legal team to fight RNC bias lawsuit
April 29 (Reuters) - Google has added a new, conservative lead attorney to its legal team as it fights the Republican National Committee's bid to revive a lawsuit accusing the Alphabet (GOOGL.O), opens new tab unit of discrimination.
Dominic Draye of law firm Greenberg Traurig, a former solicitor general of Arizona appointed by the state's Republican leadership, appeared on Monday in a court filing, opens new tab as lead counsel for Google in its clash against the RNC in the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Draye will work with lawyers from law firm Perkins Coie, prominently known for its work for the Democratic National Committee, technology clients and voting rights.
Draye, Google and Perkins Coie on Tuesday either declined to comment or had no immediate comment.
Seattle-founded Perkins Coie had represented Google, one of the firm's longtime clients, by itself in the lower court.
Perkins Coie is among four firms suing the Trump administration to block executive orders targeting them for their prior work for clients the president disfavored. Perkins Coie represented the 2016 presidential campaign of Trump's Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.
Before joining Greenberg Traurig, Draye was appointed in 2017 by Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich to serve as the state's solicitor general, the top appeals court lawyer.
Draye earlier worked at law firm Kirkland & Ellis and clerked for conservative 5th U.S. Circuit Judge Edith Jones.
The RNC claimed in its lawsuit that Google was discriminating against it by routing its emails to spam folders. Google has denied the claims, which a judge dismissed last year in a win for the company.
'The same Gmail algorithm governs emails sent by the Democratic National Committee — and everyone else,' Draye said in a filing on Monday in the appeals court.
Perkins Coie's Michael Huston, a former law clerk to Chief Justice John Roberts, is working with Draye.
Google also recently said lawyers from Lehotsky Keller Cohn will defend the company against the RNC. The small firm is known for its work for conservative-leaning or Republican clients.
The RNC is represented by lawyers from small, conservative-leaning firms Consovoy McCarthy and Dhillon Law Group. Dhillon's founder Harmeet was recently appointed to lead the civil rights division at the Justice Department.
The case is Republican National Committee v. Google, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 24-5358.
For RNC: Thomas McCarthy of Consovoy McCarthy and Michael Columbo of Dhillon Law Group
For Google: Dominic Draye of Greenberg Traurig and Michael Huston of Perkins Coie
