engine - 9:06 am on Jun 29, 2011 (gmt 0)

Paul Ceglia's Lawyers Quit In Facebook Case [latimesblogs.latimes.com]

Status update on Paul Ceglia, the New York state man who claims he is entitled to half of Mark Zuckerberg's multibillion-dollar stake in Facebook: The big-firm lawyers who lent credibility to his case have quit. Papers confirming the withdrawal were filed Tuesday in federal court in Buffalo. DLA Piper confirmed in a statement that it withdrew from the case and no longer represents Ceglia. "Due to our attorney-client privilege obligations, there will be no further comment," the firm said. Ceglia's claims, which had been viewed with suspicion, got a boost when DLA Piper took his case. Ceglia's new counsel, San Diego's Jeffrey Lake, said in an e-mailed statement: "We are pleased to confirm that our firm has been retained to represent Mr. Ceglia to bring this case to trial so that a jury may review the evidence and decide the case on its merits."