Gibson Dunn, a law firm known for representing tech giants like Meta, Apple, and Microsoft, has taken over Automattic and Matt Mullenweg’s legal defense in their ongoing lawsuit against WP Engine.
Last October, Automattic retained Neal Katyal, former Acting Solicitor General of the United States, and his firm Hogan Lovells to represent the company after WP Engine filed legal action. WP Engine brought the lawsuit after Mullenweg called the hosting company a “cancer” to WordPress, accusing WP Engine and its private equity firm, Silver Lake, of profiting off WordPress and not contributing enough back.
In response to the suit, Mullenweg blocked WP Engine and its employees from WordPress.org, added a contentious login checkbox to WordPress.org, took over WP Engine’s ACF plugin, and launched wordpressenginetracker.com, among other moves against the company. In December, WP Engine won a preliminary injunction to stop Mullenweg’s public attacks and regain access to WordPress.org.
Yesterday, Katyal and members of his team filed notices of withdrawal with the United States District Court, confirming they are no longer representing Automattic and Mullenweg.
It’s not clear why Automattic has replaced Hogan Lovells with another firm. The Repository reached out to Automattic and Mullenweg for comment but did not hear back.
Court documents filed this week revealed that Automattic retained Gibson Dunn as its new legal counsel on January 22. Leading Automattic’s defense is Rosemarie Ring, a litigation partner at Gibson Dunn’s San Francisco office with extensive experience in complex commercial disputes and technology-related litigation. Her past clients include Facebook, LinkedIn, Verizon, and Microsoft.
In 2023, BTI Consulting Group named Gibson Dunn and Quinn Emanuel — WP Engine’s legal counsel — as two of the four most feared firms in U.S. litigation, describing them as “relentless, cunning, aggressive, very smart” and that they “play to win — and win big.”
On Tuesday, Gibson Dunn asked the court for more time to get up to speed and to prepare a reply in support of Automattic’s motion to strike and dismiss WP Engine’s amended complaint. The firm also proposed moving the next hearing in the case from June 5 to May 8 in a joint proposed order with Quinn Emanuel. While Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguín granted the extension request, the hearing remains scheduled for June 5.
In other court filings this week, Automattic also opposed developer Michael Willman’s motion to intervene, arguing that he has no direct stake in the case since he is not a WP Engine customer and only receives residual affiliate payments from past referrals.
Automattic also opposed Willman’s motion for contempt, pushing back on claims that the company had violated the court’s injunction, stating that Willman was never banned from WordPress.org, and that Mullenweg’s decision to ban Willman from WordPress Slack was lawful, citing repeated violations of the Community Code of Conduct. Automattic further argued that content moderation decisions were protected by the First Amendment and that Willman’s comments—including a message stating, “I’ll see you on Monday”—were interpreted as a potential threat.
Automattic’s switch to another legal team mid-suit comes as tensions with WP Engine continue to escalate, with Mullenweg recently suggesting on X that the suit could drag on for years and might bankrupt him or even force the closure of WordPress.org.
In recent interviews with CIO and at TechCrunch Disrupt, Mullenweg expressed his willingness to negotiate with WP Engine. His comments, coupled with the change in his legal team, raise questions about whether WP Engine may have refused to negotiate or settle, pushing Automattic to rethink its strategy and, possibly, bring in a legal team better suited for aggressive litigation ahead of a trial.
Last October, Mullenweg told The Repository that an 8% trademark licensing deal was no longer on the table and he wanted more. However, in a recent interview with Computerworld, he said that he was no longer seeking money from WP Engine, explaining that the hosting company had made extensive changes to its website and was no longer violating WordPress trademarks.
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