5 things to know about Alex Spiro, Adams’ new attorney

To defend New York City Mayor Eric Adams against a decades-old allegation of sexual assault, the city’s Law Department has retained Alex Spiro, a partner at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and one of the more expensive lawyers in the game. Spiro’s fee will be covered by New York City taxpayers, but at least he’s giving the city a discount on his typical hourly rate.

The sexual assault case against Adams was filed under the Adult Survivors Act, which allows civil claims involving sexual assault to be filed even after the statute of limitations has passed. The plaintiff in the case is Lorna Beach-Mathura, who has accused Adams of demanding oral sex in exchange for a promotion back in 1993, when they were both members of the New York City Police Department. Adams has called the case a “distraction”, and the newly-retained Spiro said the allegation was “entirely fictitious” in a new court filing made this month.

Here are five things to know about the mayor’s new attorney:

He has represented numerous high-profile celebrities and billionaires. 

Spiro’s client roster includes celebrities like Jay-Z and billionaires like New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, but his most well-known client may be Elon Musk. Spiro has assisted the controversial billionaire several times, beginning with a defamation lawsuit in 2019. Spiro is also known to do pro bono work with celebrities, including work with Kim Kardashian and Mississippi Prison Reform with Jay-Z. 

He’s known to charge clients $2,000 per hour for legal services.

When not doing pro bono work, Spiro customarily charges clients $2,000 per hour. But he’s offering New York City a significant discount to represent Adams. According to City Hall, Spiro will charge the city $250/hour for work by partners and $175/work by associates. Adams himself will not need to pay anything; since he was a transit cop at the time the alleged assault occurred, he qualifies for free legal representation from the city.

He gets four hours of sleep a night and hasn’t lost a case in over a decade.

In an interview with the New York Law Journal, Spiro said that he has insomnia and only gets around four hours of sleep per night. The attorney acknowledged that this may give him a competitive edge, and it’s true that he hasn’t lost a case in over a decade – though he did drop a case.

He prosecuted serial killers. 

Before going into private practice, Spiro worked as a prosecutor. He helped indict and prosecute Rodney Alcala, the “Dating Game” serial killer who was responsible for several murders in California and the death of two New Yorkers in the 1970s. Spiro also worked to convict serial murderer Travis Woods during his time as a junior prosecutor. 

He recently got in trouble for practicing law in Texas without a license

Spiro faces possible sanctions for engaging in the “unauthorized practice of law” after he prepared legal documents for Elon Musk in connection with a defamation lawsuit in Texas – despite not being licensed in Texas. Musk is being sued for defamation by Benjamin Brody, who has accused Musk of falsely claiming that Brody participated in a far-right street brawl in Oregon last year. Brody’s lawyer has tried to get Spiro thrown off the case and called Spiro’s conduct during a recent court appearance “astonishingly unprofessional.” 

Spiro has applied to appear in the case “pro hac vice,” which would allow him to represent Musk despite not being licensed, but the court has not yet approved that. Spiro has dismissed the possibility of sanctions and accused Brody’s attorney of grandstanding. “I understand this lawyer wants his 15 minutes of fame, but these extortion tactics won't work,” he said in a statement.