Did Chevron's Lawyers Double-Cross the Oil Company?

Here’s a juicy tidbit being peddled by foes of Chevron, the big oil company: Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Chevron’s outside law firm, double-crossed its client! Whoa. Sounds like trouble for Gibson Dunn, one of the most prominent corporate law firms in the country. Until, that is, one actually looks at the facts.

“Chevron’s Own Lawyers Jeopardize Fate of Chevron-Ecuador RICO Lawsuit” declares the headline on a blog post by EarthRights International, a nonprofit advocacy group in Washington. I became aware of the post courtesy of a blast e-mail from Steven Donziger, a New York plaintiffs’ attorney who is being sued by Chevron. Donziger and EarthRights are slinging mud at Gibson Dunn in an attempt to confuse interested parties waiting for a verdict in Chevron v. Donziger. EarthRights goes so far as to suggest that “the next phase of this never-ending litigation may see Chevron suing its own lawyers.” Not likely.