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Jenner & Block replacing Simpson Thacher in Activision

case

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Simpson Thacher represents Microsoft ( MSFT ) on other matters

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Jenner, other firms suing White House over orders

(Recasts headline in May 1 item)

By Mike Scarcella and Tom Hals

May 1 (Reuters) -

Microsoft ( MSFT ) is switching the law firm representing it

in a shareholder case, replacing one that settled with the Trump

administration to avoid a punishing executive order with one

that is fighting the White House.

Court documents showed Microsoft ( MSFT ) has hired Jenner & Block to

replace Simpson Thacher in a Delaware Chancery Court lawsuit

over its $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard. The

filings did not give a reason.

Microsoft ( MSFT ), without elaborating, said in a statement to

Reuters that Simpson Thacher continues to represent it on other

matters. Companies can have many reasons for switching legal

teams, including to save money or avoid attorney-client

conflicts.

Simpson Thacher did not immediately respond to a request for

comment. Jenner & Block, which has done prior work for

Microsoft ( MSFT ), declined to comment.

Jenner and three other firms are suing President Donald

Trump's administration over his executive orders that stripped

their security clearances, restricted their access to government

buildings and sought to cancel federal contracts held by their

clients.

Wall Street firm Simpson Thacher is among nine firms that

have collectively pledged nearly $1 billion in free legal

services to the White House since Trump launched his pressure

campaign on firms that he accused of "weaponizing" the legal

system against him.

The New York Times first reported Microsoft's ( MSFT ) change in

counsel.

Jenner's lawsuit against the Trump administration called the

executive order an "unconstitutional abuse of power" that sought

to drive away its clients.

It said the order was retribution for its past employment of

a prosecutor involved in the U.S. special counsel probe into

Russian contacts with Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.

A former top lawyer at Microsoft ( MSFT ) and dozens of other current

and former general counsels at major U.S. companies said in an

April 11 court brief backing Jenner and other firms that Trump's

orders force companies "to choose counsel to avoid the

President's retribution rather than based on independent

business judgment, experience, skill, or expertise."

Simpson Thacher represented Microsoft ( MSFT ) in its acquisition of

Activision Blizzard, maker of the popular video game "Call of

Duty." The deal, announced in 2022, was the largest ever in the

gaming industry.

The lawsuit in Delaware claimed Activision improperly

approved a draft merger agreement and not the final version.

Microsoft ( MSFT ) in 2024 asked a judge to validate the acquisition and

deny a $15 million fee request from lawyers who represented an

Activision shareholder.