Raleigh, North Carolina (WiredPRNews.com) — Two North Carolina lawyers who joined forces to defend lacrosse players of Duke University who have been falsely accused of rape will be at opposite sides in a lawsuit that was filed by the son of former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani against the famed college.
Charlotte, North Carolina’s James Clooney has been appointed to represent Duke University against the claims of Andrew Giuliani that he was dismissed by unfair means from the golf team. Clooney, who graduated in 1979, was the attorney for Essex Falls’s, N.J., and Reade Seligmann, one among the three players who were charged for raping a dancer in March of 2006.
Robert Ekstrand, the lawyer of Andrew Giuliani, is a Durham lawyer and a lecturer at the Duke school of law. He represented several of the team members shortly after that dancer reported her rape at a party that was held off the campus.
Some changes were dropped the previous year against Colin Finnerty, Seligmann of Garden City, and Evans of Bethesda, MD., after an investigation followed by Roy Cooper, the North Carolina Attorney General. Mike Nifong, the Durham District Attorney was disbarred for mishandling of the case.
Last month, Giuliani sued the Duke golf coach, O.D. Vincent III, making a claim that he was dismissed from the team without valid cause. In the court papers, Giuliani’s lawyer said that Vincent was looking to reduce the team members to half its size from 13.
Andrew Giuliani is scheduled to tee-off Thursday morning at the Friars’s Head Golf Club for the Baiting Hollow at Met Amateur Championship. He is trying to seek financial compensation along with resuming the right to use the training facilities that are provided by the college.
