An attempt by attorneys for Michael Cohen to keep Michael Avenatti, counsel for adult film actress Stephanie Clifford, out of the legal proceedings around the government’s raid on Cohen’s offices and home last month are legally unsubstantiated and should be denied, according to a filing by Avenatti late Monday.

The memorandum of law in support of Avenatti’s pro hac vice application called the request by McDermott Will & Emery partner Stephen Ryan “completely devoid of merit.”