Chirayu Rana was left without a lawyer just hours before he was due in court on Tuesday, after Daniel Kaiser filed a consent to be discharged as his attorney in the case. Rana, 38, had no new counsel lined up and was expected to represent himself pro se until he decides whether to hire another lawyer.

The hearing was set to address Rana’s request to be identified only as John Doe in the court docket, a move that sat inside a salacious sex-slave lawsuit that has drawn separate defamation claims from JPMorgan Chase executive Lorna Hajdini. Kaiser had previously represented several Epstein accusers, including Jennifer Araoz, before stepping away from Rana’s case.

The withdrawal leaves Rana exposed at a moment when the case is already moving on several fronts. A JPMorgan spokesperson said the firm has no intention of settling the matter and said the allegations are without merit, underscoring that the bank has held that position from the start. The filing came as Rana, described in court-related reporting as a disgraced former JPMorgan banker, prepared to argue for anonymity while facing a case that has continued to widen beyond the original lawsuit.

The immediate question is no longer whether Rana wanted the docket sealed under another name. It is whether he can keep pressing that request, and defend himself against a bank that says it will fight the claims to the end, without a lawyer at his side.