Reddit challenges Proskauer’s role in Perplexity defense

Reddit filed its request on October 9 in Manhattan federal court, asking the judge to block Proskauer Rose from defending Perplexity.[1] Reddit says the firm previously represented it in a whistleblower case and had promised not to represent Perplexity.[1] It argued that it was dropped like a “hot potato” by lawyers who owed it client loyalties.[1] Proskauer says its earlier work does not create a conflict that bars the Perplexity representation, and denies ever agreeing not to take the case.[1]

The earlier case was brought by former Reddit employee Jutta Williams, who alleged she was fired after raising concerns about Reddit’s data privacy and licensing practices.[2] Proskauer represented Reddit in that dispute, which involved Reddit’s licensing arrangements with Google and OpenAI.[2] Reddit alleges the work gave the firm access to confidential information about those agreements.[2] Proskauer describes the matter as an employment dispute involving retaliation and discrimination allegations, distinct from the scraping case, and says its Perplexity team has been screened from Reddit’s confidential information.[2]

Reddit’s lawsuit accuses Perplexity of improperly collecting content through Google search results.[2] Reddit filed the lawsuit against Perplexity and several data-collection companies on October 22, 2025, alleging that the defendants circumvented technological protections to obtain platform content in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.[2] Perplexity has denied Reddit’s copyright-infringement claims.[1] Judge Paul A. Engelmayer allowed substantial portions of Reddit’s claims to proceed on July 31, 2026, but has not decided whether Proskauer may take over Perplexity’s defense.[2]

Perplexity wants to hire Proskauer partly because of the firm’s experience defending companies accused of automated web scraping.[2] Proskauer previously represented SerpApi in separate litigation against Google involving technological protections intended to restrict access to search content.[2] Perplexity’s current lawyers at Keker, Van Nest & Peters have asked permission to withdraw, but the judge deferred that request until resolving the Proskauer dispute.[2] The central questions remain whether the firm’s earlier work or alleged assurances bar the new representation.[1]