Tesla Hires Former SEC, DOJ Attorney As "Managing Counsel For Litigation" A savvy choice of counsel who knows the ropes with regulators or a damage control move for Tesla? The recent hiring of David Misler, a former attorney for the SEC and DOJ, has certainly perked up the ears and eyes of many who follow the company and may be asking themselves this very question. His title, "managing counsel for litigation", has a "general counsel" feel to it. The news of Misler's hire came after it popped up on his LinkedIn page and was subsequently reported by numerous financial news outlets. The news is notable because Misler is a former trial attorney for the Securities and Exchange Commission and also worked for the DOJ, according to CNBC. It's also notable because Tesla has been without an official general counsel for years - an oddity, given the company's run-ins with regulators. Musk has been under regulatory scrutiny since the SEC accused him of securities fraud over his "funding secured" Tweets and then subsequently accused Musk of violating a consent order where he was supposed to have all of his public tweets approved by counsel. CNBC pointed out that legal website Plainsite "published records in June revealing that the SEC had subpoenaed Elon Musk, his former chief of staff Sam Teller, his personal wealth manager Jared Birchall, his personal office Excession LLC, and the Elon Musk Revocable Trust". But there's no evidence that the hire and these subpoenas are linked - at least, yet... Misler wrote on his LinkedIn about the new position: “Almost nine years ago, I joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C. where I took an oath that I would faithfully represent the United States as its counsel. My federal service ended this past Friday after two years in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s trial unit." "Today, a new journey begins. I start at Tesla as a managing counsel for litigation where I will support our important mission of accelerating the world’s transition to sustainable energy.” Another chapter in the Tesla saga begins... Tyler Durden Tue, 11/23/2021 - 12:17