Reddit asks judge to block its former law firm from defending Perplexity

Reddit is trying to prevent its former law firm from defending Perplexity in its data-scraping lawsuit. Competing submissions filed October 9, 2026, ask a Manhattan federal judge to resolve an alleged conflict involving Proskauer Rose. The fight has also put a proposed change in Perplexity’s legal team on hold while the judge decides whether the firm can take over.

Reddit argues that Proskauer’s earlier representation gave it confidential information relevant to the case and that the firm promised not to represent Perplexity. Proskauer disputes both grounds for disqualification. In the competing filings, the firm says its prior work created no conflict and denies agreeing to stay out, according to The Economic Times.

The licensing information behind the objection

Proskauer previously represented Reddit in a whistleblower lawsuit brought by former employee Jutta Williams. Williams alleged that Reddit fired her after she raised concerns about its data privacy and licensing practices. That case involved Reddit’s licensing arrangements with Google and OpenAI, according to Law Commentary.

Reddit says that work exposed Proskauer to confidential information about those agreements. It argues that the information overlaps with its allegations that Perplexity improperly collected Reddit content through Google search results. The claimed connection concerns licensing practices, not simply the fact that Reddit was a client in both disputes.

After Perplexity approached Proskauer about taking over its defense, the firm sought Reddit’s consent and was refused. Proskauer then moved to withdraw from the whistleblower proceedings. Reddit objected over ongoing discovery—the exchange of evidence before trial—and the difficulty of finding replacement lawyers.

Reddit says it eventually agreed to that withdrawal in November 2025 after receiving assurances that Proskauer would not enter the Perplexity litigation. The firm disputes that any binding restriction was imposed. That disagreement gives Reddit a second basis for its objection, alongside its argument about confidential information.

Proskauer cannot drop Reddit like a hot potato in favor of Perplexity

Reddit, in its October 9 court filing

Two different conflict standards

Reddit invokes the “hot potato doctrine,” which can prevent lawyers from dropping an existing client to represent another with conflicting interests. It argues that Proskauer withdrew to pursue Perplexity’s business and should therefore face the stricter conflict rules that govern current clients, rather than those governing former clients.

Proskauer instead argues that disqualification under former-client rules generally requires a substantial relationship between the two matters. It describes the earlier case as an employment dispute involving retaliation and discrimination allegations, distinct from the data-scraping claims. The firm also says lawyers assigned to Perplexity’s case have been screened from Reddit’s confidential information.

Proskauer argues that Perplexity should be able to use its chosen counsel in a case carrying large potential damages. Perplexity wants the firm partly for its experience defending companies accused of automated web scraping. That experience includes representing SerpApi in separate litigation against Google over protections restricting access to search content.

A defense handover on hold

The underlying lawsuit began on October 22, 2025. Reddit accused Perplexity and several data-collection companies of circumventing technological protections to obtain its content in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Perplexity denies Reddit’s copyright claims. On July 31, 2026, Judge Paul A. Engelmayer allowed substantial portions of Reddit’s claims to proceed.

Engelmayer has not ruled on whether Proskauer can take over the defense. Perplexity’s current lawyers at Keker, Van Nest & Peters have asked permission to withdraw, but the judge has deferred that request until he resolves the representation dispute. For now, the proposed handover depends on the decision about Proskauer.