FOX Lawyers Up

Fox News has hired veteran trial attorney Dan Webb to lead its defense against a defamation suit by Dominion Voting Systems over false claims made during the channel’s coverage of the 2020 presidential election.

The LA Times reports the move comes shortly after an unfavorable Delaware Supreme Court ruling last month, which allows the outlet’s parent company, Fox Corporation, to be included in the suit filed in March 2021. The June 21 ruling said Dominion “adequately pleaded” that top Fox executives — Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan — had a “direct role in participating in, approving, and controlling” the airing of baseless claims of voter fraud perpetuated by former president Donald Trump.

Dan Webb

A Fox News representative said the ruling was not a factor in the hiring of Webb, which was in the works for several weeks. The court admitted Webb to the case on June 30.

Webb, co-chairman of the Chicago-based firm Winston & Strawn, replaces Chip Babcock, a Houston-based litigator who specializes in First Amendment cases. Webb‘s appointment is an indication that Fox News expects to go to trial in the Dominion case, in which the voting systems company is seeking $1.6 billion in damages.

“His vast experience in trial litigation will add depth to our legal team, ensuring the protection of the First Amendment and the fundamental right to a free press remain intact,” the company said in a statement on Webb’s hiring.

Webb, 76, has a long career of handling high-profile cases. He is comfortable interacting with juries and the media, presenting himself with a modest, Midwestern demeanor even as press accounts of his career described him as a “superlawyer.”

Webb most recently served as a special prosecutor for Cook County, Ill., handling the charges against Jussie Smollett, the “Empire” actor convicted of hiring two men to stage a hate crime against him in January 2019.