Chinese professor Bo Mao, accused of working with a Chinese company widely believed to be telecom giant Huawei to steal intellectual property from an American company, told a federal judge on Wednesday that he wants to retain his current counsel despite questions about whether billing in the case could hurt his position.

Mao’s Thompson & Knight and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati attorneys are being paid by an American subsidiary of the Chinese company, prosecutors have said.