Lin Wood and John Pierce were the first lawyers to hit the scene for Kyle Rittenhouse. Both are no longer around. While many questions remain, an explosive podcast by Adam Klasfeld of Law & Crime pulls back more of the curtain. The Kenosha shooter’s mother Wendy Rittenhouse’s torches Pierce and Wood: “They used Kyle to gain money . . . they did not care about Kyle.”
The podcast consists of interviews with Wendy Rittenhouse and Dave Hancock. The latter is a former Navy Seal and was the executive director for the #FightBack Foundation, a 501(c)(4) which raised legal defense funds for Rittenhouse. Wood and Pierce were on the Board of Directors for #FightBack. Pierce stepped off after the Daily Beast exposed his personal and professional financial problems. According to Law & Crime, the interviews cover their “demands that the non-profit conduct an audit of the money that it fundraised.”
We have teased out a few short clips from the full podcast, all 30 seconds or less. Sound up!
“They Used Kyle”
A statement from Wendy Rittenhouse sets the stage. First, let’s review a tweet from John Pierce after he was fired.
While keeping in mind that Pierce has been called a “phony,” and a “con man,” let’s compare his words to those of Wendy Rittenhouse.
#FightBack Faced Early Skepticism
Before hearing more, it’s worth noting the the podcast lends credence to earlier skepticism expressed about #FightBack. The organization came under fire as soon as Pierce’s involvement became public. The Harvard Law School educated attoreny has severe issues, a former client recently called Pierce a “crook,” an alarming list of financial issues for Pierce and his pre-Rittenhouse law firm – Pierce Bainbridge Beck Price & Hecht LLP – is below.
Pierce’s financial woes resulted in his early exit from the Rittenhouse defense team. The prosecutors’ office challenged Pierce’s application to practice law in Wisconsin stating, “his involvement with an unregulated and opaque ‘slush fund’ provides ample opportunity for self-dealing and fraud.” Pierce quit hours later. By doing so, he avoided a judicial opinion on the matter.
“They Didn’t Care About My Son’s Well Being”
In elaborating on how “they used Kyle,” Rittenhouse’s mother discusses her frustration with Pierce’s apparent lack of candor. Directly related to when Rittenhouse would be released from jail. She portrays the attorney as more concerned with money, than with the fate of her son.
“John Cared About The Money”
The massively indebted and cash strapped Pierce’s focus on money is a recurring theme.
Interestingly, several early skeptics noted that Pierce’s career has been in civil law, he has negligible criminal law experience, much less with anything remotely resembling a double murder trial. Yet, notwithstanding this lack of experience, according to records reviewed by Law & Crime, Pierce billed over $1200 an hour to Rittenhouse matters.
Before listening to the next clip, let’s look at another Pierce tweet. It appears that Pierce Bainbridge has some expensive lights. . .
“Where’s the Money?”
Lack of transparency was another criticism faced by #FightBack. Incredibly, this extended to even Rittenhouse’s mother Wendy. The two clips below speak to this issue; the second picks up where the first ends.
The Gun Incident
The podcast also covers a gun incident involving Hancock and Wood. The police were called. The two offer differing versions of events. Two colorful excerpts are below.
“Lin, You Seriously Just Grabbed My Gun.”
“Were You Really in the Seals?”
Legal “Navy Seals”
Wood ends the last clip by challenging Hancock’s status as a former Navy Seal. While Hancock was an actual Seal, in 2019, Pierce referred to his lawyers as legal “Navy Seals” and “Army Rangers.” Back then he called them the “most elite litigators on the planet.” Yet, Pierce recently blamed his massive debts on “carrying incredibly unproductive lawyers for years.“
Pictured below are Pierce longest tenured former partners. Around 40 lawyers started at Pierce’s firm after all of them, around 40 partners quit Pierce’s firm before all of them. It seems they only abandoned Team Pierce when the money dried up, the firm has a reported $70 million debt to litigation lenders.
Where is the Line?
Wendy Rittenhouse has called out Lin Wood and John Pierce. Wood’s issues, and objectively disturbing musings, are no secret. As for Pierce, in 2016 he accepted a $2.5 million a year offer to join K&L Gates LLP as a partner. Just months later, Pierce physically assaulted a co-worker and lost his job. Since then, Pierce’s issues have included:
Litany of John Pierce Issues
- Stint in a UCLA psychiatric facility
- Reported threat to kill the mother of his three children
- Owed over $1 million in taxes and Citibank $90,000
- Owed his ex-wife’s mom $27,000
- Breached child support obligations
- Fired by several clients
- Quit on five clients since October 2020
- Law firm debt of over $60 million
- Default judgment for $85,000 against Pierce’s firm
- Default judgment for $287,000 against Pierce’s firm
- Money judgment for $ 4 million against Pierce’s firm
- Arbitration award for $3.5 million against Pierce’s firm
- Reported to the California State Bar for alleged witness intimidation in the Rittenhouse case
- Withdrew from a New York case after a challenge to Pierce’s application to practice law in the state.
- Withdrew from a Wisconsin case after a challenge to Pierce’s application to practice law in the state.
- Essentially pilfered $2.5 million from a pay day lender in Flushing, Queens, New York
- Fired by Kyle Rittenhouse
- Accused of trying to secure cash against the Rittenhouse $2 million bond
Pierce also formed a litigation fund – Talon LF, LLC – with his ex-partner Douglas S. Curran. A review of representations in Talon investor materials also raises eyebrows. In addition, Pierce Bainbridge received mega-millions from litigation funder Virage Capital Management, covered in “He Who Has The Gold, Makes The Rules.”
Indeed, money problems and lack of candor have dogged Pierce for years. Both issues surface in Adam Klasfeld’s podcast.
What’s Next?
The drama around Lin Wood and John Pierce appears never ending.
Wendy Rittenhouse speaking out has raised the stakes.
What’s next?
***Check out “My David & Goliath Battle With the Corrupt Law Firm Hired by Rudy Giuliani.“ You can also find me at @DonLew87 on Twitter and Don Lewis-2215 @ Medium
