Prince Andrew will find it 'almost impossible' to overturn Giuffre settlement, top US lawyer tells LBC

5 February 2023, 12:19 | Updated: 5 February 2023, 15:45

By Connor Hand

@Connor_HandLBC

A top US defence attorney has warned Prince Andrew that it would be “almost impossible” for him to overturn his settlement with Virginia Giuffre.

Speculation has mounted in recent weeks that Prince Andrew has consulted lawyers Andrew Brettler and Blair Berk - who has previously represented clients including Kayne West, Mel Gibson and Leonardo Di Caprio - to consider whether it would be possible for him to renege on his $12m deal with Ms Giuffre. 

However, Bradley Simon, who specialises in civil litigation and worked as a federal prosecutor in New York, told LBC that those encouraging the Duke of York to explore legal avenues were “engaging in frivolity and nonsense”.

“I would say that it is wishful thinking on the Prince’s part and if he’s getting advice of that nature, I would say the advice is ill-advised… it’s almost impossible.

“This is a man who entered voluntarily into a settlement agreement, and he now seems to be having buyer’s remorse; unfortunately for him, the law does not provide for buyer’s remorse when it comes to voluntary settlement agreements.”

Read more: Queen 'wanted Prince Andrew to try charity work' so he could make comeback into public life

Read more: Prince Andrew urged to challenge £10m settlement with sex crime accuser Virginia Giuffre by lawyer she also sued

One of those encouraging Prince Andrew to assess his options is US lawyer Alan Dershowitz, who was also accused of sexual assault by Ms Giuffre before she conceded she had ‘made a mistake’ in identifying him.

A former professor of law at Harvard University, Dershowitz recently implored the Duke of York to “pursue every legal remedy”, citing “many, many good defences [Andrew] could have raised”. 

Yet Mr Simon poured cold water over Dershowitz’s suggestions, criticizing the lawyer for allowing his own experience to unduly influence his thinking: “Alan Dershowitz is not really giving impartial neutral advice because he was sued as well… A lot of [Dershowitz’s advice] is motivated by his own personal experience rather than a lawyer giving impartial advice to a client.”

Prior to Dershowitz’s comments, the family of disgraced socialite Ghislaine Maxwell published a photo which they believe undermines Ms Giuffre’s claims against Prince Andrew. 

Depicting the bathtub in which sexual activity between the Prince and a minor is alleged to have taken place, the image shows two individuals donning A4-sized masks of the Duke of York and Giuffre.

Maxwell’s family contends the photo demonstrates the tub in question is too small to allow for the type of sexual activity alleged by Giuffre; Ian Maxwell, brother of Ghislaine, has given the Duke permission to use the picture as part of any future defence. 

According to Simon, however, it would be unlikely to bolster the Duke’s case. 

“Regardless of whether pictures are showing up by publicity mongers makes no difference in the world. No judge is going to set aside that settlement. End of story.”