Pierce Bainbridge Beck Price & Hecht and ex-partner Don Lewis have escalated their legal war against each other in recent days, with Lewis saying he has learned that key evidence against him is weaker than previously described and Pierce Bainbridge accusing Lewis of putting on a “litigation soap opera.”

Pierce Bainbridge and Lewis filed dueling motions to dismiss suits they filed against one another in New York and California courts on Thursday and Friday. Lewis, in Friday’s court filings, also sought sanctions against his former firm, claiming the suit against him was a public-relations stunt meant to blunt the impact of his own claims.