Reddit moves to bar ex-law firm from defending Perplexity

In October 9 filings in Manhattan federal court, Reddit asked Judge Paul A. Engelmayer to disqualify — bar from the case — its former law firm, Proskauer Rose, from defending Perplexity in Reddit’s 2025 scraping suit, per Reuters. Reddit says Proskauer learned confidential details about Reddit’s licensing deals with Google and OpenAI while representing Reddit in an earlier whistleblower case, and that Proskauer had told Reddit it would not represent Perplexity; Proskauer denies both and says the earlier work does not bar it from the case. Reddit also argues Proskauer dropped it “like a hot potato” — a legal term for a firm cutting a current client to take on a bigger one — to take Perplexity’s business. Perplexity’s current lawyers at Keker, Van Nest & Peters have separately asked to withdraw; the judge has deferred that request until he rules on Proskauer’s role. No ruling has been made on either request.