Attorney Jerry McDevitt has been the go-to man for WWE and Vince McMahon for nearly thirty years when things get litigious. His work with the company began in 1987 when he helped WWE Hall of Famer Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart get acquitted by a jury over charges of fighting with a flight attendant over drinks. From there, he moved on to bigger cases, including McMahon’s infamous battle with the federal government over alleged drug trafficking charges, which he notoriously won.
These days, McDevitt has been in WWE’s corner as they deal with Major League Wrestling, who has filed an antitrust suit against the sports entertainment juggernaut. The suit alleges that WWE interfered in MLW’s dealings, including costing them a deal with Vice TV that would have featured a weekly television product, much like they are doing on Reelz at the moment.
Last month, the judge in the case ruled against WWE’s request to have the case dismissed, which means it will now allow for litigation, discovery, and possibly a trial. Earlier this year, the case had been dismissed, but the judge allowed Court Bauer and MLW to file an amended complaint, which led to the recent ruling.
Following the decision, Wrestlenomics reports that McDevitt will no longer be representing WWE in the case as he will be retiring. Lawyers from Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Warton & Garrison LLP will be defending WWE from now on. McDevitt released the following statement to Wrestlenomics regarding his decision to step away from the case.
As you may know, since early 2022 I have been working towards retirement. I had hoped that the Court would again dismiss MLW’s lawsuit as it did the first time. When it did not, and it became obvious that the case would run into at least 2025 in all probability, I advised my client that I would be wrapping things up by year-end and that it would make sense for them to secure counsel who can go the distance on the case now that discovery will be starting. There is also the chance that I might be a witness given the allegations. I will be 74 this January and it just seems like the right time to make necessary transitions.
We have worked with Paul[,] Weiss on other matters and they are an excellent firm who I will be helping get up to speed.
It has been a great 36-year run with a great Company and Vince [McMahon], and I am very proud of all that we accomplished during that time, and I will continue to help them any way I can.
MLW has seemingly reacted to the news with a tweet reading, “MLW just won its first retirement match.”