Phil Spector sues his ex-lawyer
December 20, 2007
Disgraced music producer Phil Spector has launched a solicitor negligence-related compensation claim.
Mr Spector, who has been accused of murdering actress Lana Clarkson at his home four years ago, hired star lawyer Robert Shapiro soon after his original arrest.
The producer's first trial for the crime collapsed earlier this year - and a retrial is scheduled for 2008.
Now, he is suing for the return of £500,000 in legal fees due to the lawyer's alleged negligent behaviour, which led to him being fired before the first trial commenced.
The controversial Wall of Sound man produced a string of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, including the Ronettes' Be My Baby, Tina Turner's River Deep, Mountain High and the Beatles' Long and Winding Road.
Mr Shapiro is himself one of America's most famous lawyers, having previously represented OJ Simpson prior to the American football star's acquital for murdering his wife.
The lawsuit states: "[Mr Shapiro] took unfair and unscrupulous advantage of his friendship and position of trust with Mr. Spector, and decided to use Mr. Spector's arrest as an opportunity to make a financial windfall and garner publicity for himself."
Mr Shapiro denies the solicitor negligence allegations.