It seems reports of the death of litigation involving allegations linking retired Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz to an underage sex scandal have been greatly exaggerated. While the attorneys involved in a related defamation suit insisted a settlement ended the case last year, appellate court records paint a different picture — with a ruling Tuesday suggesting the post-settlement legal wrangling is far from over.
The defamation suit was filed against the professor by former federal judge Paul Cassell and Farmer Jaffe Weissing Edwards Fistos & Lehrman partner Bradley Edwards, attorneys for Virginia Giuffre, who claimed Dershowitz had sex with her while she was a minor. Giuffre claimed to be a victim in a sex ring by Dershowitz’s client, Palm Beach billionaire Jeffrey Epstein. But Dershowitz testified the allegations were part of an attempt to extort about $1 billion from another wealthy man ensnared in the scandal, retail magnate Les Wexner, whose portfolio includes Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works, Pink and La Senza.
