Inside Dominion v. Fox: An Interview With Tom Clare And Libby Locke

Tom Clare and Libby Locke (courtesy photo).

Welcome to Original Jurisdiction, the latest legal publication by me, David Lat. You can learn more about Original Jurisdiction by reading its About page, and you can email me at davidlat@substack.com. This is a reader-supported publication; you can subscribe by clicking on the button below. Thanks!

If you’ve been defamed, and it don’t look good, who you gonna call?

Clare Locke (if you can afford them). Founded in 2014 by Tom Clare and Libby Locke, who left the partnership of Kirkland & Ellis to build a plaintiff-side defamation practice free from the constraints of Biglaw, Clare Locke has become the go-to firm for major corporations and high-net-worth individuals who have suffered reputational attacks.

I’ve known Tom and Libby for years, and I’ve been meaning to invite them on the podcast for a long time. After they secured what’s believed to be the largest defamation settlement in history—$787.5 million for their client, Dominion Voting Systems, in the landmark litigation of Dominion v. Fox—I couldn’t wait any longer.

So this is actually a bonus episode. I usually post episodes every other Wednesday, I posted an episode last week, and my next episode—which also has an amazing guest—will go live next Wednesday, May 3. But in light of last week’s Dominion settlement, I didn’t want to delay, so I’m slipping in this episode now.

It’s also a double episode, which is why it’s longer than usual—but worth it. I interview Libby and Tom about their interesting personal and professional backgrounds; their decision to leave Kirkland to launch a boutique firm, including why it would be impossible to have a practice like theirs in Biglaw; what it’s like to practice alongside your spouse; how they got involved in the Dominion case, including why the settlement was so darn large; and the future of New York Times v. Sullivan.

In the interest of getting this out in timely fashion, I have not included in a transcript. It’s surprisingly laborious to clean up the auto-generated transcript, since the voice-recognition technology has a long way to go. So if you’d like to get the substance of our fascinating conversation, please listen to our dulcet tones, via the embed at the top of this post or in your podcast player of choice. Enjoy!

[UPDATE (11/2/2023, 3:25 p.m.): With the help of the wondrous service that is rev.com, I have finally added the transcript for this interview. If you’re a paid subscriber to Original Jurisdiction, you can scroll down to read it. Thanks!]

Show Notes:

• Thomas A. Clare bio, Clare Locke LLP

• Elizabeth M. Locke bio, Clare Locke LLP

• ‘Brilliant and Lucky’: Clare Locke Makes Headlines by Keeping Clients Out of Them, American Lawyer

• Winning Litigators: Tom Clare & Libby Locke, Clare Locke, National Law Journal

• Clare Locke LLP, Chambers and Partners

Sponsored by:

NexFirm helps Biglaw attorneys become founding partners. To learn more about how NexFirm can help you launch your firm, call 212-292-1000 or email careerdevelopment@nexfirm.com.