Legal ethics in Hulk Hogan v. Gawker

Steve Lubet reviewed the new book by Ryan Holiday, Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue. Lubet focuses on the book's revelation that neither Hogan nor his lawyers knew until after the verdict that Thiel was funding the litigation (communications and payments were anonymous and through an anonymous intermediary), which violates Florida ethics rules in several respects. This also sheds a different light on Hogan declining a $ 10 million settlement offer. I argued that Hogan's decision not to settle was beside the point to any free-speech concerns, regardless of Thiel's funding efforts. Lubet offers a legal-ethics twist on this. While it is not clear whether or how much Thiel influenced the decision not to settle, it is not clear Hogan's lawyers counter-offered with Hogan's drop-dead figure of $ 20 million or shared with Hogan the risks of declining the offer and proceeding to trial (namely more of the video, including Hogan's racist comments, becoming public).

Steve's review is worth a read and Holiday's book sounds interesting and detailed. I still need to watch the Netflix documentary on the case.