Prince Andrew has formed a "dream team" of high-powered American lawyers and is "confident" that the rape and sexual assault charges against him will be dismissed, The Daily Mail reported on Sunday.
According to the report, citing an unnamed source claiming to be familiar with the matter, the first court hearing is expected to take place on Monday.
"The Prince's UK team has slowly but surely been putting together a team of highly-skilled, big-name lawyers to fight on his behalf in the US," the source is quoted in the report as saying. "'People will be surprised by the names of those who will be defending him. It's a dream team of some of the sharpest minds in the business. There is a great deal of confidence among everyone, Andrew included, that the civil suit will be thrown out before it ever comes to court."
Giuffre reportedly planned to sue the Duke in a New York court, having testified under oath that she was forced to have sex with him three times while she was 17 and still a minor under New York law.
Blair Berk, a Los Angeles lawyer whose previous clients include Harvey Weinstein, Britney Spears, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Mel Gibson, is thought to be part of the duke's legal team in the US, according to the outlet.
"Blair is one of the best in the business. She's nicknamed The Rottweiler," one of the lawyers who allegedly worked with her, told The Daily Mail. "'She takes no prisoners. If anyone can clear Andrew's name and sort out this mess, she can."
Giuffre's lawyer, David Boies, reportedly attempted to serve Berk with a copy of the legal claim. Paperwork filed in New York came in with a response from her stating that she was "not authorized" to accept the documents.
On Monday, a New York judge will likely hear only Giuffre's lawyers, who will describe the legal case against Prince Andrew and attempt to provide proof that the complaint has been served on the duke in the UK. Andrew's lawyers are not expected to show up at the hearing.
"The other side [is] very good at garnering headlines but ultimately it comes down to the law," the source noted. "The prince's legal team has no intention of validating this frivolous suit by attending Monday's hearing. They are confident they can get Virginia's suit dismissed."
A 2009 deal Giuffre made with notorious financier and convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, in which she allegedly promised not to sue any of his friends, associates, or workers in exchange for a financial payout, could be one of the grounds for her dismissal, according to British media.
A trial was pending against Epstein when he was discovered dead in a New York jail cell in 2019, with investigators ruling suicide as a probable cause of death, although no final determination has been made.