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Follow-Up: Huang Reportedly Retains Two Paul Weiss Litigation Partners as Personal Counsel; House Interview Letter Addressed Directly to His Lawyer

Friday, November 13, 2026 · Finance · GSM News

Jensen Huang, the former Nvidia chief executive, has retained two litigation partners at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison (Paul Weiss) — Melinda Haag and Walter Brown — to represent him personally, according to a November 12 report by The New York Times. Bloomberg reporter Ian King independently learned of the same retention, CNBC said it had confirmed it, and Reuters followed up with a feature story on November 13. Huang resigned as Nvidia's president, chief executive and board member on November 11.

What the two lawyers have been hired to handle remains unclear. The Times cited two people with knowledge of the matter, and a Paul Weiss spokesman declined to comment to the paper. When Reuters followed up on Friday, spokespeople for Paul Weiss, Nvidia and Huang had no immediate comment on the nature of the work the firm is doing for Huang; Reuters said it could not independently confirm which lawyers are handling the matter.

A congressional letter provides documentary corroboration: the letter sent on Thursday (November 12) by Republican leaders of several House committees was addressed directly to Brown himself, saying they hoped to interview Huang behind closed doors next month. The letter asks Huang to sit for a closed-door transcribed interview on December 1 and to confirm in writing by 8 p.m. Eastern on Friday (November 13), or face a subpoena. As of Friday afternoon, no public response from Huang's side had been reported (as of publication).

A separate congressional track should not be confused with the one above: House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast previously announced that Huang had agreed on November 11 to attend a closed-door briefing before Thanksgiving, with the exact date still under discussion. That agreement rests on Mast's announcement alone; as 24/7 Wall St. has noted, neither Huang himself, his lawyers nor Nvidia has issued a formal statement about the pre-Thanksgiving appearance. The November 12 letter, by contrast, demands written confirmation of the December 1 transcribed interview — a different matter.

Haag is a former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California, appointed by President Obama and serving from 2010 to 2015. Brown is the managing partner of Paul Weiss's San Francisco office and previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Central District of California. Paul Weiss has more than 1,500 lawyers and is one of the nation's leading firms; in March 2025 it reached an agreement with the Trump administration committing $40 million in pro bono legal services.

One distinction matters: the firm Huang retained personally is not the firm on the Nvidia board's side. The firm that ranks first in the nation by profits per partner is Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz — but Wachtell is the firm Nvidia's independent directors hired on November 10 to investigate Huang, led by Joon H. Kim. It sits on the opposite side from Huang's own counsel at Paul Weiss, and the two retentions should not be conflated.

Background: Nvidia announced on November 11 that its board had accepted Huang's resignation as president, chief executive and director, effective immediately; CFO Colette Kress became interim CEO and the board has launched a formal search. GSM will continue to follow this story.

Reference: Reuters, Bloomberg, CNBC

Related: Jensen Huang Resigns as NVIDIA CEO, Effective Immediately: CFO Colette Kress Named Interim CEO as Board Launches Search

Related: Follow-Up: Bessent Publicly Faults Commerce for Delay in Blacklisting Megaspeed; White House Says Trump Retains Full Confidence in Lutnick

Source: The New York Times

Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)

Photo: 图:黄仁勋在斯坦福大学出席对谈时发言。Anderseidesvik 摄,CC BY-SA 4.0,经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Jensen Huang speaking at a Stanford University talk. Photo by Anderseidesvik, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Story Timeline
  1. 2026-10-29A Bar Photo Fuels 'Spy' Buzz Online: Jensen Huang and Alice Huang Seen Together Twice in Taipei as Huang Calls the Dealings Normal
  2. 2026-10-30Nvidia Rejects Report of a Chinese Spy Near Jensen Huang, Saying Singapore Cloud Executive Had Only Ordinary Business Contact
  3. 2026-11-04Three House Committee Chairs Ask Nvidia's Jensen Huang to Give a Closed-Door Briefing on November 18 on His Contacts With Alice Huang
  4. 2026-11-08Nvidia Senior Director Madison Huang Cancels South Korea Trip at Short Notice; Yonhap Cites Family Reasons
  5. 2026-11-08Jensen Huang Admits Infidelity to Staff as Nvidia Board Launches Independent Investigation
  6. 2026-11-08When a Founder's Private Life Becomes a Public Company's Business
  7. 2026-11-08Follow-Up: Rubio Oversaw Classified Memo Warning Top Officials About Jensen Huang's Close Ties to Alice Huang
  8. 2026-11-08Follow-Up: Trump Calls Nvidia's Huang an 'Honorable Guy,' Says He Has Not Discussed the Allegations With Him
  9. 2026-11-09Follow-Up: China's Foreign Ministry Dismisses "Chinese Spy" Claim Linked to Nvidia as a Baseless Smear
  10. 2026-11-09Follow-Up: Musk and Ackman Publicly Back Jensen Huang as Nvidia Shares Tumble More Than 6% in Frankfurt on Monday
  11. 2026-11-09South Korea Says Nvidia Issues Won't Affect Contracted GPU Supplies
  12. 2026-11-09Nvidia Closes Down 4.29% at $178.64, Falling Alone as Market and Chip Peers Rally
  13. 2026-11-09Follow-Up: With the November 11 Reply Deadline Near, Nvidia Has Yet to Confirm Whether Jensen Huang Will Attend the Closed Congressional Briefing
  14. 2026-11-09Follow-Up: Trump Says He Called Jensen Huang, Who Said He Had 'Absolutely No Idea' She Was a Spy: 'I Really Believe Him'
  15. 2026-11-09Jeffries Says He Strongly Supports Putting Restrictions on Advanced Chip Exports to China Into the Defense Authorization Bill
  16. 2026-11-10Nvidia Falls Another 5 Percent to About $168.89: Two-Day Slide Erases Roughly $470 Billion in Market Value
  17. 2026-11-10Sen. Kevin Cramer Calls on Jensen Huang to Resign, Citing Blackmail Risk; Schumer Demands Full Accounting on Chip Bills
  18. 2026-11-11Viral 'Letters' From Jensen Huang's Wife and Daughter Are Fabricated; Neither Has Made Any Public Statement
  19. 2026-11-11Follow-Up: Rep. Lieu Says Trump Administration '1,000 Percent' Too Deferential to Nvidia; Lofgren Sees Momentum to Curb Chip Sales to China
  20. 2026-11-11Asian American Journalists Association Criticizes Surname Punchlines in Jensen Huang Coverage, Naming The Economist and the New York Post
  21. 2026-11-11Baird Downgrades Nvidia to Neutral and Slashes Its Price Target to $200 From $500
  22. 2026-11-11Shareholders Sue NVIDIA and Jensen Huang in Class Action Alleging Misleading Statements on Megaspeed Ties
  23. 2026-11-11Follow-Up: As Jensen Huang's Reply Deadline Passes, a House Chair Says Subpoenas Are Likely If He Does Not Agree to a Closed-Door Briefing
  24. 2026-11-11New York Times Reports Nvidia Board Discussed Jensen Huang's Future
  25. 2026-11-11Times Names Nvidia VP Kimberly Powell in Huang Investigation; Board Reportedly to Meet on His Future
  26. 2026-11-11Follow-Up: Senators Warren and Coons Tell Three Top Officials to Preserve All Nvidia China Export Records
  27. 2026-11-11Bessent Reportedly Confronted Lutnick Over Why Megaspeed Is Not on the Entity List; Commerce Denies Any Clash
  28. 2026-11-12Reuters: Blacklisted Northwestern Polytechnical University Bought Nvidia H200 Chips via a Domestic Reseller; China's Foreign Ministry Responds
  29. 2026-11-12Follow-Up: Megaspeed Issues First Public Statement, Says It Cooperated With U.S. Inspections and Retained a U.S. Law Firm to Census Its GPUs
  30. 2026-11-12Follow-Up: Taiwan Revokes Alice Huang's Entry Permit, Interior Minister Says She Cannot Return
  31. 2026-11-12Jensen Huang Resigns as NVIDIA CEO, Effective Immediately: CFO Colette Kress Named Interim CEO as Board Launches Search
  32. 2026-11-12Nvidia Shares Plunge at Thursday's Open, Down More Than 14% Intraday as Market Value Dips Below $4 Trillion
  33. 2026-11-12Follow-Up: Himes Says Alice Huang's Role Is Still Unclear; Intelligence Chiefs Could Not Say Whether the FBI Has Opened a Case
  34. 2026-11-12Follow-Up: Trump Says Only One Man Can Succeed Jensen Huang at Nvidia: Apple's Tim Cook
  35. 2026-11-12Follow-Up: Singapore's MHA Says Evidence Against Alice Huang Was Insufficient; She Was Sternly Warned and Barred From Re-Entry for Giving Police Inaccurate Information
  36. 2026-11-12House Speaker Johnson Says Congress Is Forming a Consensus on Limiting Chip Exports to China, With Huang Expected to Testify Within a Week
  37. 2026-11-12China's Foreign Ministry Responds on Alice Huang: Mao Ning Says She Is Not Aware of Reports She Is in Beijing, Urges U.S. to Stop Fabricating a Spy Narrative
  38. 2026-11-12Jensen Huang Agrees to Testify Behind Closed Doors Before Thanksgiving, Foreign Affairs Chairman Mast Says
  39. 2026-11-12China's Foreign Ministry: Beijing and Washington in Close Contact on Leaders' Interactions, Ready to Implement Presidents' Consensus
  40. 2026-11-12Follow-Up: Democrats Vie to Lead Nvidia Probes; Incoming Foreign Affairs Chair Meeks Plans Dedicated Subcommittee
  41. 2026-11-12Bloomberg: Manhattan Federal Prosecutors Probe Whether Alice Huang-Linked Entities Smuggled Super Micro Products to China
  42. 2026-11-12Nvidia Interim CEO Kress Writes to Employees Expressing Confidence; Company-Wide Meeting Set for November 18
  43. 2026-11-12Follow-Up: Trump Calls Huang Resignation 'a Horrible Thing, So Sad,' Says Huang Is Going Through Hell
  44. 2026-11-12Follow-Up: Senate Banking Chair Scott Demands Testimony From Huang and Lutnick, Warns of Subpoenas
  45. 2026-11-12Follow-Up: Trump Called Huang on Tuesday to Urge Him to Fight for His Job, the New York Times Reports
  46. 2026-11-12Follow-Up: White House Officials Are Discussing Commerce Secretary Lutnick's Future, Reuters Reports, as Lawmakers Step Up Export-Control Criticism
  47. 2026-11-12Jensen Huang to Forfeit About $108 Million in Unvested Equity as His Fortune Falls by More Than $6 Billion in a Day
  48. 2026-11-12CNBC: Alice Huang's Shareholdings Lead to a Huawei Cloud Data Center, Tying Jensen Huang's Admitted Affair Partner to Nvidia's Biggest Rival in China
  49. 2026-11-12Fifth Person Charged in Singapore Nvidia Chip Server Case: Shi Bingzhe, 34, Faces 41 Charges
  50. 2026-11-12Follow-Up: Jeffries Calls for a Classified Briefing for All Lawmakers on Nvidia, Slams Trump's Cook Endorsement as Free-Market Interference
  51. 2026-11-12Follow-Up: Attorney General Blanche Says the Justice Department Has Reached No Conclusion on Whether Alice Huang Is a Spy; Trump Says the Same Day It May Not Have Been Determined
  52. 2026-11-12Follow-Up: Democratic Lawmakers Name Rubio and Lutnick as Potential Investigation Targets, Saying Both Must Answer What They Knew on Nvidia Chips
  53. 2026-11-13Follow-Up: Malaysia Probes Whether Megaspeed Unit SpeedMatrix Re-Exported Nvidia Chips; Trade Ministry Says It Never Cleared Either Company
  54. 2026-11-13Follow-Up: China's Foreign Ministry Answers on Alice Huang and Nvidia Chips: Spy Label Already Addressed, Not Aware of Shanghai Data Center Report
  55. 2026-11-13Nvidia Slides Another 3.8% to About $160 at Midday as U.S. Stocks Surrender Early Gains; Nasdaq Down 1.42%
  56. 2026-11-13Reuters Investigation: More Than $3 Billion in Chinese Super Intelligence (SI) Projects Rely on Restricted Nvidia Chips
  57. 2026-11-13Follow-Up: Commerce Secretary Lutnick Agrees to Testify Before the Senate Banking Committee on December 10; Spokesperson Calls It a Voluntary, Proactive Appearance
  58. 2026-11-13Follow-Up: Bessent Publicly Faults Commerce for Delay in Blacklisting Megaspeed; White House Says Trump Retains Full Confidence in Lutnick
  59. 2026-11-13Follow-Up: Huang Reportedly Retains Two Paul Weiss Litigation Partners as Personal Counsel; House Interview Letter Addressed Directly to His LawyerThis story
  60. 2026-11-13Nvidia Board Reportedly Approached Arm CEO Rene Haas on Succeeding Huang; Board Says No Candidate Has Been Formally Engaged
  61. 2026-11-13Colette Kress Steps Up: NVIDIA's Finance Chief of 13 Years Takes Over as Interim CEO, With Nov. 17 Earnings as First Test
  62. 2026-11-13Nvidia Closes Down 2.01% at $162.85, Market Value Below $4 Trillion as Nasdaq Falls 0.91%
  63. 2026-11-14Follow-Up: NVIDIA Employees Demand Huang's Return: Internal Post Draws 1,600+ Comments, WIRED Reports
  64. 2026-11-14Follow-Up: CZ, Sarah Guo and Garry Tan Speak Out as Huang's Resignation Stirs Debate in Chinese Entrepreneur Circles
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