OpenAI has expanded its roster of outside counsel to include more than a dozen major U.S. law firms as it positions itself for a potential initial public offering as soon as September. According to a report by Reuters, the company, which was recently valued at $852 billion, is relying on elite firms for work spanning corporate restructuring, copyright disputes, antitrust claims, trade secrets litigation, and regulatory matters.
Several firms are already handling matters tied directly to OpenAI’s corporate structure and public-market ambitions. Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Morrison & Foerster recently defeated a lawsuit from Elon Musk related to the company’s nonprofit origins, removing one challenge ahead of a potential IPO. Wachtell is also working with Cooley on IPO preparations, while partner William Savitt is helping defend OpenAI against an antitrust lawsuit filed by Musk’s xAI over alleged market monopolization with Apple. In a separate trade secrets dispute with xAI, OpenAI has retained Munger, Tolles & Olson.
OpenAI’s copyright docket has also drawn several major firms. Latham & Watkins, which previously helped secure a $4 billion revolving credit line for the company, is defending OpenAI alongside Morrison Foerster and Keker, Van Nest & Peters in copyright infringement lawsuits brought by authors, comedians, and news outlets. The company has also tapped Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati for a lawsuit from Nippon Life Insurance Company involving unauthorized practice of law allegations. In the copyright cases, OpenAI has said its use of training material is “protected by copyright fair use doctrine.”
