PREACH IT! Lindsay Lohan rehabs her legal team -- for now
After days of attorney-flavored chaos, Lindsay Lohan has apparently found a new lawyer, Robert Shapiro; Lohan also has reportedly headed to a rehab facility founded by the famed attorney. If Lohan is lucky, Shapiro may even still be Lohan's lawyer once she checks out.
Soon after Lohan attorney Shawn Chapman Holley quit her client, Lohan's hopes for finding decent representation seemed dim. First some lawyer named Tiffany was rumored to have taken over. Another esquire seemed interested until he actually spoke to Lohan; then he really, suddenly, wasn’t so enthused. There was also a brief moment when it seemed that Holley would have to return to Lohan's team, on judge’s orders.
Now Shapiro has entered the mix and, per Radar and TMZ, will ask a judge to reconsider Lohan’s 90-day jail sentence. But how long will he stick around?
It's a fair question, and not just because of Lohan's reputed fondness for naughtily worded manicure art. Part of the problem could be Lohan’s legal budget -- or, rather, lack thereof. According to Radar, Lohan has expressed a desire to get all of her future criminal defense help for free.
But is that a reasonable request? Well, it certainly isn’t unusual in the world of celebrity, where ...
"It happens all the time," she says.
That said, attorneys tell me it’s less likely that a big-time lawyer like Shapiro would counsel Lohan gratis. Usually, the attorneys willing to work for stars pro bono are just starting out or on their way up, not part of a legendary legal "Dream Team."
How much money is Lindsay trying to save? Attorneys who charge hourly rates usually command $200 to $1,000 an hour. But other lawyers insist on flat rates. And some, we’re told, won’t go near a high-profile criminal case for less than $1 million.
-- Leslie Gornstein
Top photo: Lindsay Lohan and her soon-to-be-former attorney Shawn Chapman Holley appeared in court on July 6, 2010. Credit: David McNew / Reuters / Pool
Second photo: Robert Shapiro, photographed in 2003. Credit: Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images
Related dispatches from the Ministry of Gossip:
PREACH IT! Still feeling sorry for Lindsay Lohan? Knock it off already
Stephanie Pratt on Lindsay Lohan, the end of 'The Hills'
Report: Lindsay Lohan's lawyer Shawn Chapman Holley calls it quits
Lindsay Lohan's middle finger tells the judge what she really thinks [poll]
Let's see...designers send her flashy clothes to(almost)wear(now that she's hoarding those clothes to the point where someone like Niecy Nash needs to be called...Carvel sent her a VIP card for free ice cream(that was going well until her mom Dina started allegedly abusing that privilege...is that why Mom was spotted by TMZ going from In-and-Out to Wendy's for eats and Frostys for her older child?)...
she's sold her story for $1-million(which she will tell after she gets out of the Big House)...it's just too much to fathom...and now, legal forms maven and former O.J. Dream Team leader Robert Shapiro, who just happens to run what looks like a cushy halfway house for addicts in denial...remember when the biggest story of the day was Robert Mitchum stuffing $5 into a canister Loretta Young brought to set of their movie(to cover part of the 25-cents per swear word fine St. Loretta personally enforced wherever she worked...and Mitchum apparently cursed a lot)?
Posted by: Jeff | Jul 16, 2010 at 08:10 AM
"... stars are routinely sent thousands of dollars' worth of free clothing, jewelry, services, makeup and other perks every year. Ellyn Garofalo, partner at the powerful law firm Liner Grode, tells Preach It! that there are many attorneys who do work with celebrities for free, for the ........" this why why "Joe Public" pays so much for legal fees, clothes etc. What else do 'celebrities' get for free? Air travel?
Posted by: Steve Maynard-Smith, Christchurch, New Zealand. | Jul 17, 2010 at 12:54 PM