The family of the Cornell grad killed in the Midtown office shooting hires Elon Musk’s go-to attorney

The family of the top Cornell University grad who was one of the four people killed last month when a gunman went on a shooting rampage at a Midtown Manhattan office tower is mulling a possible lawsuit.

High-profile attorney Alex Spiro has been retained by the family of 27-year-old Julia Hyman, who was an associate at the property firm Rudin Management, the lawyer confirmed to Business Insider on Friday.

“I am investigating all options,” Spiro told Business Insider by email when asked whether a potential lawsuit against Rudin Management, the owner of the 44-story building at 345 Park Avenue where the shooting unfolded, is on the table.

Spiro, a partner at the New York office of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, is a famed attorney who has defended high-profile clients like Tesla CEO Elon Musk, actor Alec Baldwin, rap star Jay-Z, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, and New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

Representatives for Rudin Management did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Hyman was fatally shot in the July 28 attack along with NYPD officer Didarul Islam, 36; Blackstone executive Wesley LePatner, 43; and Aland Etienne, 46.

“As we continue to mourn the loss of our daughter Julia, we have focused our energy into investigating the incident, understanding the truth of what happened, and ensuring that something like this never happens again,” Hyman’s family said in a statement. “We have hired counsel to assist us in these efforts and we will not rest until meaningful change happens.”

Late last year, Hyman began working as an associate for Rudin Management, which has its headquarters on the 33rd floor of the high-rise.

In the aftermath of the attack, Rudin Management referred to Hyman as a “cherished” colleague in a statement and called the shooting a “senseless tragedy.”

The lone gunman, identified as 27-year-old Shane Tamura of Las Vegas, walked into 345 Park Avenue and carried out the deadly shooting with an assault rifle before he fatally turned the weapon on himself, police said.

Authorities have not yet revealed a motive for the shooting. However, Adams, the city’s mayor, previously said Tamura was apparently trying to target the NFL, which is headquartered in the building along with major financial institutions.

After opening fire in the building’s lobby, the gunman mistakenly took the wrong elevator bank and wound up on the floor of Rudin Management, where he continued his shooting spree, Adams said.

The shooter left behind a three-page handwritten note that criticized the NFL and said, “study my brain please” for the degenerative brain disease CTE, Business Insider reported.

The post The family of the Cornell grad killed in the Midtown office shooting hires Elon Musk’s go-to attorney appeared first on Business Insider.