Deaths! Divorces! DUIs! Here’s Who destiny Call When They Truly Required an Attorney

Marc Agnifilo and Teny Geragos

Wrongdoer Law

Confronted with charges of racketeering, sex trafficking and transport to participate in prostitution– plus whatever laws he might have braked with those 1,000 bottles of infant oil– Sean “Diddy” Combs turned to 2 of L.A.’s leading defense lawyer (after the 54-year-old rap artist split with previous lawyer Shawn Holley, see page 78). Agnifilo’s previous customers have actually consisted of Martin Shkreli (the so-called Pharma Brother) and NXIVM sex cult leader Keith Raniere, in addition to numerous Russian banks, a Turkish Iranian gold trader and a Syrian Lebanese weapon runner. Geragos, who opened the company with Agnifilo in March, likewise takes place to be the child of experienced L.A. troubleshooter Mark Geragos.

Blair Berk

Wrongdoer Law

Among this legal powerhouse’s more current courtroom success was keeping DaBaby out of the penitentiary. The rap artist, 32, had actually been dealing with felony battery charges for presumably punching a 65-year-old guy in the face and knocking out numerous of his teeth after the guy challenged DaBaby over the shooting of a video at a home DaBaby was leasing from him. DaBaby wound up sentenced to 1 year probation and paid $10,000 in restitution. This year, she likewise represented Dodger Shohei Ohtani in his scams and theft case versus his interpreter. Other customers have actually consisted of NFL star Darren Sharper (implicated and founded guilty in 2014 of drugging and trying to rape 16 ladies in 4 states) and rap artist Cee Lo Green (implicated of sexual battery in 2013; the case was dismissed).

Edward Burke Jr.

If you ever discover yourself in hot water in the Hamptons– as Justin Timberlake did this previous summer season– Burke is the Long Island lawyer to call. He’s formerly repped Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd (when Kidd smashed his Cadillac SUV into an energy pole after partying too hard at a Southampton charity event), disgraced Today reveal host Matt Lauer (over a fight with his next-door neighbors about some trees, to name a few legal matters) and press agent Lizzie Grubman, who infamously backed her SUV into a crowd outside a Hamptons bar in 2001 (Burke wound up whittling her sentence to simply 38 days). With Timberlake, Burke had the ability to have the vocalist plead to decreased charges so that he might return on the roadway for his Whatever I Idea I Was trip without missing out on a beat.

David Z. Chesnoff

Wrongdoer Law

As lawyer genuine estate beneficiary and founded guilty killer Robert Durst, Chesnoff has actually turned up as a character on Max’s documentary follow up The Jinx Sequel The Las Vegas-based attorney is a vibrant addition to the cast (he has a huge painting of Elvis Presley propped versus a wall in his workplace), however he associates a minimum of another customer who appears ripe for a cable drama of his own: Alexander Smirnov, the previous FBI informant charged with lying to federal representatives about Joe and Hunter Biden’s transactions with the Ukrainian energy business Burisma.

Tom Clare and Libby Locke

Wrongdoer Law

This husband-and-wife group recently has actually been returning to school, representing both previous Harvard president Claudine Gay and previous MIT teacher Neri Oxman over different charges of plagiarism. The latter takes place to be wed to billionaire Costs Ackman, who led the charge to press Gay out of her task. Locke’s annoyed 77-page letter to the owners of Organization Expert— the outlet that implicated Oxman of copying off someone else’s paper– was so extensive, the Columbia Journalism Evaluation released an entire story about what reporters might gain from it. Clare, on the other hand, is still taking a triumph lap over his effective 2023 lawsuits versus Fox News for libeling Rule Ballot Systems– the match that required the conservative news channel to spend $787.5 million in damages.

Jeffrey Eisen

Estate Law

Death and taxes might be unavoidable, however Eisen’s company– which has actually represented the estates of everybody from Marilyn Monroe to Irving Berlin to Albert Einstein to Elvis– does its finest to make both go as efficiently as possible. He’s presently working out the continuous offers over using Muhammad Ali’s similarity, name and image, in addition to the legal entanglements of a particular just recently deceased can’t- be-named A-list artist whose estate got snared in an internal revenue service audit.

Drew Findling

Wrongdoer Law

This Atlanta-based attorney is a favorite of rap royalty– he protected Cardi B in her 2018 attack case and this year got felony weapon charges versus Lil Child dropped in Las Vegas. However his most significant, most questionable current customer likewise was his most not likely: He at first protected Donald Trump versus Fulton County DA Fani Willis’ 13 felony counts for presumably trying to unlawfully reverse the 2020 election leads to Georgia. This self-described “left-wing liberal” who on social networks has actually called Trump “racist” and “pitiful,” has a long record of effectively protecting the relatively indefensible (consisting of when winning the acquittal of a lady who splashed her hubby with fuel and set him on fire).

Bryan Freedman

Civil Law

Freedman represented Kevin Spacey when the star was implicated of sexual attack. When Tucker Carlson, Chris Cuomo, Megyn Kelly and Don Lemon were all ousted from their particular networks, he’s the guy they required legal recommendations. Dr. Dre’s ex-wife employed him to get spousal assistance, FKA Twigs employed him when she declared Shia LaBeouf abused her, Gabrielle Union employed him in her harmful work environment claim versus America’s Got Skill, and Diplo employed him when he was implicated of dispersing vengeance pornography. A self-described court house “pit bull,” Freeman has a basic legal approach, which he showed THR in June: “If you fuck with my customer, you get what you get.”

Harlee Gasmer

Household Law

Her track record for discretion– she’s referred to as “The Vault”– is so well-deserved, we can’t inform you the names of any of her super-famous customers. All we can state, per her company’s main bio, is that she focuses on “intricate dissolution matters that include high net worth people, above the line skill and market executives” who are handling “complex settlement structures, spousal assistance, kid assistance and kid custody concerns.”

Mark Geragos

Wrongdoer Law

He hasn’t had much luck with Scott Peterson, however he simply might end up being the attorney who gets Lyle and Erik Menendez derived from jail. The publicity-loving L.A. mouth piece declares he’ll be presenting brand-new proof that will exonerate the bros– founded guilty of killing their moms and dads in 1993– throughout a resentencing hearing set up for November. However the Menendezes aren’t his only customers: Geragos likewise simply signed on as Hunter Biden’s most current lawyer. The president’s child has plead guilty to tax charges and is set up to be sentenced in December.

Shawn Holley

Civil and Wrongdoer Law

You understand you have actually made it as a Hollywood lawyer when a television legal drama bases a character on you (Jax Stewart on Hulu’s Sensible Doubt is loosely drawn from Holley’s life). She was quickly Sean “Diddy” Combs’ attorney– till she fired him– and protected Danny Masterson (unsuccessfully) in his 2023 rape trial. Other customers have actually consisted of Kanye West, Justin Bieber, Lindsay Lohan, Nicole Richie, Paris Hilton, Michelle Rodriguez, Katt Williams, Snoop Dogg, Mike Tyson, Shemar Moore and numerous Kardashians, in addition to the late Michael Jackson and Tupac Shakur.

David Hyman

Civil Law

If you’re intending on taking legal action against Netflix– as Fiona Harvey has more than her representation as Martha, Richard Gadd’s fictionalized stalker in the banner’s hit Child Reindeer — then possibilities are you’ll be taking on versus this guy. Hyman has actually been lawyering for Netflix given that it was a DVD-by-mail start-up, however recently he’s been extra-busy. In addition to protecting his business versus Harvey’s claims, he’s been handling matches over Love Is Blind ( a participant is declaring the truth program put her in harmful scenarios throughout recording) and Squid Video Game (an Indian filmmaker is taking legal action against over declares the program copied his 2009 Hindu-language movie Luck).

Ambika Kumar

Media Law

The Seattle-based First Modification lawyer is Silicon Valley’s go-to attorney whenever tech and totally free speech clash. She represents Microsoft (opposing gag orders restricting informing its clients when their information has actually been glanced at by the federal government), TikTok (combating a restriction in Montana) and Meta (preventing suits declaring social networks has hazardous impacts).

Lisa Helfend Meyer

Household Law

A founding partner of her own female-owned and -run store company, she has actually dealt with marital relationship dissolutions for a few of Hollywood’s most popular partners, both male and female, consisting of Janet McCormack (Eric McCormack’s ex), Jwan Yosef (Ricky Martin’s ex), Nicole Young (Dr. Dre’s ex), Brandon Blackstock (Kelly Clarkson’s ex) and Christina Ricci (James Heerdegen’s ex).

Paul D. Murphy

Civil Law

He represents Angelina Jolie in her continuous legal fight with ex-husband Brad Pitt over the disputed sale of their French winery, Chateau Miraval. The most recent wrinkle in the almost decadelong divorce included a tug-of-war over NDAs; a court just recently chose that Jolie should produce 8 years’ worth of them, a judgment both sides placed as a triumph. While Pitt’s lawyer declared it was a “substantial blow” to Jolie’s case, Murphy firmly insisted that Jolie was “more than pleased to turn them over,” including, “This case is not about NDAs in basic, however about power and control.”

Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro

Wrongdoer Law

As co-counsel protecting Alec Baldwin in the Rust murder trial, Nikas and Spiro won the highest-profile case of the year, and in record time. The duo wrangled an acquittal for the star in simply 3 days. Spiro likewise is beleaguered New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ attorney and represents Elon Musk in all sorts of matters, including his claim versus GARM, which implicates the not-for-profit of breaking antitrust laws by “conspiring” with numerous brand names to pull advertisement costs from X after Musk got the platform in 2022.

Martin “Marty” Vocalist

Civil Law

Costs Cosby, Charlie Shine, John Travolta, Jim Carrey, Zooey Deschanel, Ricky Martin, Kim Kardashian, Jonah Hill, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Kevin Costner– this guy’s customer list boasts more bold-faced names than Page 6. Among his more current cases includes 79-year-old Priscilla Presley, who is implicating an ex-business partner of ripping her off to the tune of $1 million in what’s being declared as monetary older abuse. He’s likewise been protecting Lizzo versus a match brought by 3 previous phase dancers declaring a hostile workplace.

Brian Steel

Wrongdoer Law

Speak about dedication. The Atlanta-based attorney practically went to prison himself– for contempt of court, when he declined to expose to a judge the source of a few of his details– while protecting rap artist Young Hooligan (aka Jeffery Williams) on gang-related charges in Georgia, consisting of weapons and drug ownership. Steel didn’t wind up in the hoosegow– his other half published bond– however he’s absolutely assisting his customer slow the wheels of justice to a grind. Jury choice in the event alone took 10 months.

Robert Strauss and Jonathan Forster

Estate Law

They encourage various A-listers– none of whom they’ll expose in print– on estate preparation and possession security. Forster is especially proficient in developing personal privacy trusts to keep stars’ names off homes in the general public record and in establishing irreversible trusts for the kids of prominent customers. Strauss, the company’s director, consistently conserves his customers 10s of millions in estate and capital gains taxes.

Adam Streisand

Estate Law

As Rupert Murdoch’s lead counsel, Streisand is at the red-hot center of a real-life Succession drama: He’s the attorney protecting the News Corp magnate’s current choice to significantly change his household trust, putting child Lachlan in control and divesting all his other kids. Unsurprisingly, the left-out kids are taking legal action against over the modification, with the case probably going to trial at some point in 2025. However Streisand has actually currently won a partial summary judgment on a couple of crucial concerns. Stay tuned.

Brett Ward, Kristina Royce and Marilyn Chinitz

Household Law

Amongst the 3 of them, they have actually cornered half the marketplace on prominent, high-net-worth Hollywood divorces. Royce is repping Channing Tatum in his split, and she’s seen Jeff Garlin, Forest Whitaker and Michael De Luca through the dissolution of their marital relationships. Chinitz has actually repped Tom Cruise, Wendy Williams, Michael Douglas and Anthony Scaramucci. And Ward has actually represented Emily Ratajkowski, Pamala Davis (ex-wife of 1-800-Lawyers creator Bruce T. Davis) and a variety of others.

Laura Wasser

Household Law

This last time Jennifer Lopez applied for divorce from Ben Affleck, she did it without a lawyer, a minimum of at first (after all, she ‘d had some practice). However when things undoubtedly got made complex, she turned to Wasser, as have numerous throughout the years. Amongst her other customers: Kim Kardashian, Britney Spears, Angelina Jolie, Olivia Wilde and Kevin Costner.

Douglas H. Wigdor

Wrongdoer Law

New York-based Wigdor was taking legal action against Sean Combs long before his arrest in September. Method back in November 2023, he submitted a civil grievance versus the rap artist on behalf of vocalist Cassie Ventura– the female who can be seen because 2016 hotel security video being kicked and beaten by Combs– in the match that presented the expression “freak-offs” to the legal lexicon. Combs settled with Ventura for a concealed quantity the really next day. More just recently, Wigdor is representing a ladies implicating nation vocalist Garth Brooks of rape (allegations Brooks has actually rejected).

Donald Woodard and Uwonda S. Carter

Civil Law

When offers go south– or simply require a little tweaking– these 2 are fantastic to have on speed dial, specifically when it pertains to NIL (name, image and similarity) agreements. Most just recently, Woodard and Carter renegotiated college basketball star and rap artist Flau’ jae Johnson’s pact with Jay-Z’s Roc Country, apparently landing her a multimillion-dollar bump.

Laura Zwicker

Estate

” All my customers are exceptionally personal privacy mindful,” Zwicker states, decreasing to call names. All we understand is that she deals with fragile tax, estate and other concerns for much of Hollywood’s leading skill. That consists of an A-list filmmaker who just recently needed some migration support while moving outside the U.S. and a renowned star who established an overseas trust structure for his household, and she’s stated to be an ace on cases including appraisal and IP.

This story appeared in the Oct. 23 problem of The Hollywood Press reporter publication. Click here to subscribe.