NSO
Group
builds
spyware
that
authoritarian
regimes
love.
After
Washington
Post
journalist
Jamal
Khashoggi
was
assassinated
in
the
Saudi
consulate,
NSO’s
CEO
publicly
declared,
“We
had
nothing
to
do
with
this
horrible
murder.”
However,
leaked
data
and
forensic
analysis
revealed
that
NSO’s
products
seem
to
have
quite
a
bit
to
do
with
this
horrible
murder.
No
one
at
NSO
set
out
to
murder
a
journalist,
but
when
you
provide
authoritarian
regimes
technology
to
spy
on
their
dissidents…
natural
and
logical
consequences.
Blood
money
can
be
as
green
as
any
other
money,
but
investments
have
a
tendency
to
take
a
hit
when
the
company
gets
featured
in
Amnesty
International
reports.
If
there’s
a
risk
your
investment
might
end
up
knee
deep
in
an
assassination,
that’s
information
that
such
a
fund
might
arguably
find…
material?
Those
same
funds
may
have
concerns
about
foreign
bribes
or
international
gambling
sites
with
covert
ownership.
One
fund
invested
in
such
iffy
companies
under
the
management
of
Novalpina
Capital
Partners
and
it
gave
rise
to
a
whole
mess
of
foreign
legal
actions.
But
cutting
across
all
the
suits,
the
fund
claims
Novalpina
misled
it
about
the
nature
of
these
transactions
and
ultimately
caused
big
losses
while
Novalpina
claims
it’s
owed
a
bunch
of
money.
But
of
particular
interest
to
the
American
Biglaw
audience
is
a
28
U.S.C.
§
1782
petition
seeking
domestic
discovery
for
use
in
a
foreign
proceeding
filed
in
the
S.D.N.Y.:
Weil,
and
particularly
Gerhard
Schmidt,
co-managing
partner
of
Weil’s
German
offices,
was
the
Fund’s
key
legal
advisor
when
under
Novalpina
GP’s
control,
including
for
all
major
acquisitions
undertaken
by
the
Fund
(including
NSO,
LXO
and
Maxbet)….Accordingly,
Weil
was
responsible
for
conducting
due
diligence,
negotiating,
financing
assistance,
drafting
transaction
documentation,
and
supporting
NCL
in
the
management
of
Fund
investments….
Schmidt
managed
the
Fund’s
investments
by
acting
as
a
director
in
various
Novalpina
and
Fund
entities,
and
was
one
of
the
directors
responsible
for
the
Fund’s
governance
of
NSO.
The
fund
wants
the
firm
to
produce
a
wide
array
of
firm
documents.
Or,
as
the
case
may
more
realistically
be,
a
privilege
log
listing
a
bunch
of
documents
Weil
won’t
hand
over.
That
said,
the
petition
claims
its
requests
primarily
target
“correspondence
Weil
had
with
third
parties,
or
documents
provided
to
Weil
by
third
parties.”
Weil
isn’t
a
party
to
the
lawsuit
so
they
aren’t
being
accused
of
wrongdoing,
but
there’s
a
point
where
technically
accurate
analysis
can
open
the
door
to
client
whitewashing.
NSO
was
described
as
having
“best
in
class”
governance
and
compliance.
In
the
class
of
spyware
manufacturers…
maybe
that’s
not
a
high
bar?
The
petition
claims
they
already
have
documents
showing
Weil
involved
removing
references
to
a
controversial
Russian
business
figure’s
ownership
stake
in
a
gambling
site…
where’s
the
materiality
line
on
that?
We
reached
out
to
Weil
about
this
matter
but
they
did
not
respond.
Which
is
understandable…
it’s
ongoing
litigation.
This
isn’t
even
the
only
1782
petition
in
the
matter,
with
Novalpina
targeting
the
fund’s
American-based
current
investment
advisor
as
well
as
the
Oregon
Public
Employees
Retirement
System,
the
fund’s
largest
investor.
You
know
who
probably
doesn’t
like
finding
out
their
money
is
aiding
in
assassinations?
Public
pension
funds!
But
this
all
highlights
the
delicate
game
of
telephone
driving
private
equity.
Pension
funds
rely
on
the
say-so
of
the
funds,
who
rely
on
the
investment
managers,
who
rely
on
the
due
diligence
of
law
firms.
It’s
a
legal
version
of
human
centipede,
with
each
link
more
potentially
obscured
than
the
last,
and
you’re
just
trusting
whatever
comes
out
the
other
end.
Adding
to
the
lunacy
surrounding
this
case,
the
1782
petition
was
submitted
by
Stone
Hilton,
the
law
firm
you
probably
most
remember
connect
with
the
words,
“violently
anally
raped
by
a
cylindrical
asteroid
in
front
of
my
wife
and
children,”
because
that’s
what
the
co-founder
of
Stone
Hilton
allegedly
said
he
hoped
to
do
to
the First
Assistant
Attorney
General
of
Texas.
2025
has
been
a
wild
year.
(Check
out
the
1782
motion
on
the
next
page…)
Joe
Patrice is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
Feel
free
to email
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments.
Follow
him
on Twitter or
Bluesky
if
you’re
interested
in
law,
politics,
and
a
healthy
dose
of
college
sports
news.
Joe
also
serves
as
a
Managing
Director
at
RPN
Executive
Search.