He may have gotten a reference, or chosen the firm then because they are already very familiar with the matters involved, given that they already represent the firm. They also may be observing because there could be implications for the company, or for the Navid as a director, and he may be covered by directors liability insurance.
There are any number of reasons why he might choose that firm or they might be involved on behalf of the company, given that there is a list of 5 or more law firms for the other case (Yonemura), there appear to be a lot of firms participating for various reasons. If I were him, I'd chose the firm that would be most efficient and would take the least time to get up to speed and would be best in a position to find the necessary information to rebut any allegations. One that is already litigating related matters, and for which I could possibly get a waiver, if it represents the company elsewhere, or possibly, as I say below, it could be in another context.
The fact that he is suing, speaks volumes to me. Though not a certainty, obviously, the fact that he wants to litigate it and subject himself to discovery, depositions, and potentially being crossed on the stand, under oath, suggests to me he feels pretty confident. It's a civil suit, at his option, so I would rather suggest he thinks he has been wronged and he is going to get down to the bottom of it, and perhaps the company's counsel would also want to know those details.
Recognize too, in court cases, and this happens frequently, third-parties can intercede in the procedings if the outcome could affect them. Mostly, they get access to key and relevant materials and get to make filings. So Gibson Dunn could be involved under a variety of different contexts, on behalf of the company, on behalf of a director, as an observer or interceding party (third-party, if Malik had another counsel, then possibly on behalf of NWBO), or, most likely, just as counsel who would be most qualified to handle the matter because if their familiarity with other matters. The lawyers can't lie in papers and you usually don't want a lawyer that knows "a lot" if you're a guilty party. So again, that speaks to me about a person who feels wronged and is pursuing his interests aggressively and without concerns. I haven't seen all of the documents, but I'm sure it all makes for interesting reading.
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