Celebs Prone To Lawyer Swapping

Celebrity defendants usually hire the best lawyers money can buy. But with high-profile attorneys lining up for the chance to represent the likes of Michael Jackson, Phil Spector and Robert Blake, the first counselor is unlikely to be the last.

Changing lawyers once, twice — even three times — has become a familiar theme among the most famous of the accused.

Jackson, charged with child molestation, fired two high-powered lawyers and hired another as part of a five-member legal team.

Spector, the music producer charged with killing a woman at his house, parted company with three high-profile California defenders and now retains a New York lawyer with a history of representing mobsters.

Since Blake's arrest on suspicion of murdering his wife in 2001, the actor has had four lawyers. And he is still three months from trial.

"In celebrity cases, you are dealing with people who are used to calling the shots," said celebrity attorney Steve Cron. "They wouldn't accept a bad table at a restaurant or a room without a view in a hotel. They are not going to accept a lawyer who is not up to their expectations." Cron's own clients have included comedian Paula Poundstone and Stone Temple Pilots lead singer Scott Weiland.

For lawyers, it can be a dizzying game of musical chairs, with competitors vying for a client even after the defendant has committed himself to an attorney.

"I had lawyers going to see Robert in jail when I was representing him," said Blake's first attorney, Harland Braun. "Sometimes you get maneuvered out by other lawyers."

Competition is hot because fortune and fame come with the cases.

More often, Braun said, the celebrity client is being manipulated by a small army of business associates who think they know best how to handle the case.

"There's the personal lawyer, the manager, the agent, the PR people, the assistants, maybe a movie studio," Braun said. "Running one of these cases is more like handling a political campaign than practicing criminal law."

For prosecutors, a new defender usually means only one thing — delays.

"But we realize that defendants have a right to the attorneys of their choosing, as long as they can afford them," said Los Angeles County District Attorney's spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons, whose office is prosecuting Blake and Spector.

The penchant for lawyer swapping seems to have increased in recent times. Past prosecutions of Zsa Zsa Gabor, for slapping a Beverly Hills cop, and "Twilight Zone" director John Landis, for a deadly helicopter accident on the set of the movie, illustrate how high-profile defendants once seemed more content to stick with their initial choices.

Gerry Spence, who successfully defended former Philippines first lady Imelda Marcos on federal racketeering and fraud charges in 1990, said that during the trial, other lawyers tried to lure her away. "Thank God she didn't let that happen," Spence said.

But years later Spence himself talked in jail with Blake about joining the actor's defense while Braun was his counsel. Nothing came of the discussions.

Robert Shapiro, once a member of the O.J. Simpson defense team and the first lawyer to represent Spector after his arrest, said the preponderance of revolving-door lawyers in celebrity cases is easily explained.

"There are usually unrealistic expectations by the client that the case will disappear because they have hired a well-known lawyer," Shapiro said. When the case persists, the defendant can get upset.

The split between Shapiro and Spector was acrimonious, with the defendant suing to get his $1 million fee returned. Spector hired two highly regarded criminal lawyers, Marcia Morrissey and Leslie Abramson, who postponed her retirement to accept the case.

"No other defendant would get me to give up my freedom. No other defendant was someone I considered an idol, an icon and the definition of cool," Abramson said last February.

She and Spector lasted four months. Abramson would not specify why she quit, other than to say there was an ethical conflict. Bruce Cutler, a New York attorney best known for representing mob boss John Gotti, took over.

Sometimes representation in famous cases overlaps.

One of Blake's four lawyers, Thomas Mesereau Jr., parted ways with the actor over "irreconcilable differences." Within a few months, Jackson hired Mesereau. The pop star had been represented by a team that included Mark Geragos — who was also representing murder defendant Scott Peterson, who was not a celebrity.

Jackson apparently felt Geragos was neglecting him for Peterson and fired him.

"It is imperative that I have the full attention of those who are representing me," Jackson said at the time. "My life is at stake."