Barry Bonds’ Frugality Scares Off Defense Lawyer
Baseball star Barry Bonds’ attempt to shave the legal fees charged by a well-regarded San Francisco criminal defense lawyer has apparently backfired.
John Keker won’t be representing Bonds on charges he lied to a grand jury investigating steroid use, the Wall Street Journal reports (sub. req.) Sources told the newspaper that Keker thought it was ridiculous for the well-paid Bonds to request a big discount on Keker’s $900 hourly fee and to demand a review of all the legal bills.
But even more important were Keker’s concerns about having to collaborate with the slugger’s current legal team and his inability to control Bonds’ public relations efforts, the newspaper says. Bonds has largely relied on his bodyguard, Danny Molieri, an old high school friend, for advice on hiring lawyers.
“Mr. Bonds, whose arraignment tomorrow will unfold in San Francisco federal court, has seen his legal moves repeatedly backfire as his lawyers have angered prosecutors and squabbled with one another,” the newspaper says.
Bonds is now close to hiring a different defense lawyer, Cristina Arguedas of Berkeley, Calif., who is also well-regarded, according to the account.
