Celebrities

Actor’s Smoking-Arrest Woes Inspire Headline Writers

A court has issued a $1,000 bench warrant for the arrest of actor Shia LaBeouf, the star of Transformers and an upcoming Indiana Jones movie, after he failed to show up in court yesterday on a charge of unlawful smoking. Neither LaBeouf nor his lawyer appeared in court Tuesday, the…

Mar 19, 2008 1:31 PM CDT

Idol Production Company Tells ‘Worst’ Site to Cease and Desist

A website that encourages viewers to vote for the worst contestant on American Idol has agreed to remove the Idol logo after receiving three cease-and-desist letters from the show’s production company. A lawyer for the site, Vote for the Worst, says most of the content is protected under fair-use laws,…

Mar 17, 2008 3:00 PM CDT

McCartney Ordered to Pay Ex $48.6M

Paul McCartney’s ex-wife, Heather Mills, will get $48.6 million in a divorce settlement. Mills is already holding assets worth $15.6 million, and she’ll get the rest of the award in a lump sum payment of $33 million, the Associated Press reports. She will also get $70,000 a year in child…

Mar 17, 2008 2:41 PM CDT

Lawyers Blamed, Credited in Singers’ Foreclosure Cases

Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin is blaming a lawyer’s mistake for the near loss of her home, but pop singer Michael Jackson has his lawyers to thank for the rescue of his beloved Neverland Ranch. Franklin’s $700,000 Detroit mansion fell into foreclosure after she neglected to pay $445 in taxes…

Mar 14, 2008 12:23 PM CDT

Lisa Marie Presley Sues Paper: I Was Pregnant, Not Fat

Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter of famed rock-and-roll singer Elvis Presley, has sued a British newspaper, contending that her privacy was invaded when it falsely claimed that she was fat. Rather than simply “piling on the pounds,” as the Daily Mail initially reported in an article criticizing her allegedly unhealthy…

Mar 11, 2008 8:05 PM CDT

Britney’s Lawyer: Big Tipper Federline Can Afford His Own Legal Fees

The new lawyer representing Britney Spears in her child custody battle told a court that the singer’s ex-husband should pay his own legal fees. Lawyer Stacy Phillips told a court commissioner that Kevin Federline recently tipped a waiter $2,000 on a $365 check, showing his ability to pay, the Associated…

Mar 11, 2008 1:54 PM CDT

Anna Nicole Smith Baby Inherits Unknown Amount

Ruling today in a celebrity case reminiscent of a law school exam question, a Los Angeles judge has decided that the young daughter of former Playboy bunny and television personality Anna Nicole Smith will inherit her estate, whatever it may prove to be. Although Smith’s will, drafted before her now…

Mar 4, 2008 11:25 PM CST

Bob Bennett Avoids Exaggeration in Memoir, Except When Bolstering Clients

Lawyer Robert Bennett’s new memoir doesn’t settle old scores or exaggerate his importance, like some books of this sort, according to a Wall Street Journal book review. Exaggeration isn’t really needed, since the facts amply support the conclusion that Bennett has a high-profile client list and the smarts needed to…

Mar 3, 2008 7:25 PM CST

Judge Refuses Kidd Accuser’s Request for Anonymity

A federal judge has refused to allow an aspiring model to shield her identity in her sexual battery suit against basketball player Jason Kidd. Judge Carol Edmead ruled that the plaintiff’s desire to avoid embarrassment isn’t enough to overcome the public’s right of access to judicial proceedings, the New York…

Feb 29, 2008 1:32 PM CST

Disbarred Lawyer Outbid Madonna on $35M Home

Last month, Keith G. Rubenstein was disbarred by a Brooklyn, N.Y., appeals court. But the former real estate attorney’s situation could be worse. “Last year, he outbid Madonna on a $35 million Upper East Side townhouse that he is planning to occupy only after a two-year gut renovation,” reports the…

Feb 26, 2008 8:08 PM CST

Harvard Law Review Vampires No Match for ‘Barackula’

Updated: In addition to his other political skills, presidential candidate Barack Obama can also put the bite on vampires. At least that’s the premise of Barackula, a new Internet-only musical now playing on Barackula.com. YouTube also has a selection of Barackula clips. First-time director Mike Lawson’s political horror film pits…

Feb 22, 2008 6:21 PM CST

What Are the Oscar Odds for Legal Thriller ‘Michael Clayton’?

The legal thriller Michael Clayton has seven Oscar nominations, but its chances of a win may not be all that good, if history is any judge. In 80 years, there have been only 10 wins for legal movies or actors who play lawyers, law professors, judges or legal assistants, reports…

Feb 22, 2008 4:04 PM CST

Britney’s Lawyers: She Can’t Assist in Traffic Case Defense

Lawyers for Britney Spears persuaded a California judge today to postpone a misdemeanor traffic case against the troubled pop star, saying that she isn’t able to participate fully in her own defense. Attorney J. Michael Flanagan told Superior Court Judge T.K. Herman that Spears’ lawyers don’t believe the 26-year-old is…

Feb 20, 2008 10:29 PM CST

Driver in Fatal David Halberstam Crash Gets 5 Days

A five-day jail sentence has been given to an aspiring journalist with a bad driving record who was at the wheel when author David Halberstam died last year in a California auto accident. Under a recommendation by the sentencing judge, Kevin Jones, 27, is likely to serve the time in…

Feb 15, 2008 7:59 PM CST

Lawyer’s Childhood Beatle Encounter Results in Oscar Nomination

Toronto lawyer Jerry Levitan may not have been a journalist when, at the young age of 14, he got an interview with John Lennon. But Levitan’s 40-minute audiotape is now getting more attention than many news stories. Levitan collaborated with a Toronto animator in 2005 to make a film using…

Feb 15, 2008 7:38 PM CST