Hollywood’s Troubleshooters: Who the Stars Name to Put Out Fires and Stop Future Disasters

Whether or not it’s defending in opposition to felony prices, negotiating a prenup or suing an employer, having a top-notch lawyer is a should. However while you’re well-known and residing underneath the microscope of public scrutiny, it takes a specialist who can navigate the legislation and the media. Enter The Troubleshooters, the attorneys Hollywood calls when it’s time to hope for the perfect and plan for the worst.

A lot of their work is underneath the radar by design, and plenty of of them gained’t a lot as verify a shopper — even when it’s already publicized. However, because of phrase of mouth from business insiders, public paperwork and different analysis, The Hollywood Reporter has compiled an inventory of the 25 attorneys the leisure elite have on pace dial for loss of life, divorce and different disasters.

Profiles by Winston Cho, Mia Galuppo and Chris Gardner.

Harlee Gasmer

ELKINS KALT 
In a line of labor that places a premium on privateness, Gasmer, aka “The Vault,” is even higher than most at staying out of the highlight. One insider described her because the “best, least coated household lawyer on the town.” Gasmer says she at all times prepares as if she’s going to trial, and that helps her resolve issues with out truly taking them to court docket. Her technique: “Set a mediation, perceive the ability of the phrase ‘no,’ and settle the case.” Lately, she’s seeing a development of exes wanting their rich in-laws’ cash factored into spousal help funds. Her recommendation: “Don’t overindulge your children in case you’re frightened about publicity.”

HOW I UNWIND “Pilates and MSNBC.”
THE MOST REWARDING PART OF MY JOB IS … “Having the ability to advocate for my shoppers and get an precise fast end result for them.”

Anne Kiley

ELKINS KALT 
Regardless of representing such headline-making shoppers as Brad Pitt in his acrimonious break up from Angelina Jolie — and the continuing fallout from it — Kiley typically flies underneath the radar. Along with being a go-to household lawyer for Hollywood sorts, she has taught at USC’s prestigious Gould Faculty of Legislation.

Dana Lowy

Meyer Olson Lowy & Meyers 
A founding accomplice of the female-led agency says current highlights have been efficiently negotiating a variety of high-profile prenuptial agreements and litigating a matter that resulted within the former partner of Lowy’s shopper being held in contempt for violating a court docket order. She additionally resolved a variety of high-net-worth shoppers’ divorces by means of settlement, with out litigation, and says a key to minimizing battle is “being ready by spending the time analyzing all elements of the matter and never taking pictures from the hip.”

HOW I UNWIND “My first ardour is journey, from an African safari and trekking with gorillas to any seaside with a heat ocean and novel with me. A straightforward journey to Cabo is the proper tonic to unwind.”
A PROBLEM I’M SEEING MORE OF LATELY “Individuals appear to be extra offended in addition to extra weak in these occasions, whether or not ensuing from the divisiveness of our nation, monetary points, the aftermath of the pandemic, or simply excessive ranges of tension.”

Erica Lubans

Wasser Cooperman & Mandles 
Lubans is turning into a go-to identify at one of the trusted corporations on the town, having labored on groups for high-profile divorce circumstances together with Armie Hammer and Melanie “Mel B” Brown. Now she’s specializing in constructing a e-book of enterprise and making a wholesome rapport with opposing attorneys. “I need folks to know that we will have working relationship,” Lubans says. “I feel it makes you a greater advocate.” She strives to keep away from drama and assist shoppers “put this chapter behind them as rapidly, painlessly and cost-effectively as attainable.”

THE MOST REWARDING PART OF MY JOB IS … “Getting circumstances accomplished and seeing how shoppers really feel after it’s over. It’s like a special individual.”
ONE PIECE OF ADVICE … “Educate your self earlier than you get married. Know what the legislation offers and resolve if you wish to deviate from it by means of a prenup.”

Kristina Royce

Clean Rome 
Royce says her model is to maintain issues confidential and to get circumstances into settlement “in a short time.” As somebody who reps high-profile leisure business figures like Elizabeth Chambers, in addition to high-net-worth people within the tech world, Royce encourages personal mediation at any time when attainable, particularly because the pandemic has resulted in prolonged court docket delays. She says, “It’s way more useful to shoppers to have one thing settled in personal.”

HOW I UNWIND “I’m a whole canine lover. I like to play with my canine and hang around with my husband and youngsters. And I work out.”
A PROBLEM I’M SEEING MORE OF LATELY “Individuals coming into prenups with out understanding the long-term ramifications. I consider a wedding is so much like a enterprise, and also you wouldn’t enter right into a enterprise deal with out understanding your rights and obligations to 1 one other. You want to method marriage with the identical stage of transparency, authenticity and communication as you’ll in enterprise.”

Brett Ward

Clean Rome 
Ward gained’t quit names — although he’s been related to the likes of Emily Ratajkowski — however did say that his private spotlight of the previous yr was wrapping up a “high-profile case” that was favorable to his shopper and accomplished in a way that helped them keep away from litigation and the stresses that include that. One development he’s seeing is fewer folks getting married. “So you might have extra conditions that contain custody, property and youngster help that aren’t inside a wedding,” he notes. “We’re discovering new methods to resolve these issues with out being underneath the umbrella of divorce.”

THE MOST CHALLENGING PART OF MY JOB IS … “Getting past the shopper’s uncooked emotion in order that the suitable strategic choices will be made.”
A PROBLEM I’M SEEING MORE OF LATELY “The dearth of coaching and information across the intricacies of interspousal violence.”

Laura Wasser

Wasser Cooperman & Mandles 
Maybe essentially the most well-known household lawyer on the town, Wasser takes on issues with inventive considering and a contact of “gallows humor.” She gained’t talk about shoppers — they embrace Kevin Costner and Britney Spears — however says certainly one of her current wins was efficiently defending the validity and enforceability of a prenup. “It took an excessive amount of litigation and a prolonged trial, however we prevailed,” she says. “That is essential as there appears to be a development the place folks attempt to contest the agreements they entered into at marriage. Having the ability to depend on an settlement that’s correctly made with one’s partner is essential. Seeing that judicial officers are imposing prenups is an excellent signal.”

A PROBLEM I’M SEEING MORE OF LATELY “Disingenuous home violence allegations.”
HOW I UNWIND “Hanging with my household. Swimming within the sea.”

Blair Berk

Berk Brettler 
Launching a brand new agency alongside fellow Energy Lawyer Andrew Brettler was one spotlight of Berk’s yr — the remaining, she will’t talk about. “For a variety of our shoppers, we had been capable of efficiently clear up delicate and complex issues with out these points turning into headline fodder or leading to both civil litigation or felony prices,” she says. The elite felony lawyer handles circumstances for defendants in addition to victims and has labored with shoppers together with Hammer and Darren Sharper.

HOW I UNWIND “I play the piano.”
THREE WORDS TO DESCRIBE MY APPROACH TO WORK “Sensible, strategic and empathetic.”

Priya Chaudhry

Chaudhry Legislation 
Chaudhry is dealing with one of the talked-about felony circumstances of the yr, or as she places it, “fiercely defending the harmless, gifted and easily fantastic Jonathan Majors within the false allegations made in opposition to him.” The Creed III actor is dealing with misdemeanor prices of harassment and assault after being arrested March 25 in a home violence case in New York. Chaudhry has argued that he referred to as 911 out of concern in regards to the girl’s psychological well being and is combating to get the costs dismissed. On the subject of dealing with high-profile crises like these, she says the bottom line is “appearing rapidly, boldly and with an eye fixed on all of the stakes that matter most to the shopper.”

ONE PIECE OF ADVICE … “Be very selective of the folks in your life — most individuals will betray or lie for cash. Maintain all of your paper trails, together with texts, as if you can be defending your self in court docket at some point.”
THE MOST CHALLENGING PART OF MY JOB IS … “Witnessing the rusty jaws of the felony justice system routinely mangle harmless folks of shade.”

Drew Findling

The Findling Legislation Agency 
Atlanta-based Findling is a family identify within the music enterprise — although he additionally counts former President Donald Trump as a previous shopper. He efficiently defended DaBaby in a swimsuit from a live performance promoter alleging the artist assaulted him. Findling notes, “His counsel will possible should compensate DaBaby for his legal professional’s charges for what in the end could also be thought-about frivolous litigation.” The decision capped off a yr that began with securing a deal for Cardi B limiting her sentence to neighborhood service after she pleaded responsible to assault for an incident at a Queens strip membership.

HOW I UNWIND “Distance operating.”
A PROBLEM I’M SEEING MORE OF LATELY “The usage of rap lyrics as proof in opposition to felony defendants, particularly in felony road gang or RICO circumstances the place there’s little else linking the defendant to felony exercise.”

Mitchell Schuster

Meister Seelig & Fein
Superstars like Travis Scott, in addition to a bunch of professional athletes and actors, hold Schuster of their contacts for felony and civil issues starting from blackmail makes an attempt and nightclub assaults to household points and texting scandals. Schuster’s purpose isn’t simply to win the circumstances but additionally to maintain them from reaching the general public, although extra shoppers are happening the offensive. He says, “After a number of years of just about everybody enjoying protection, I’m noticing extra individuals are beginning to struggle again in opposition to those that are both attempting to extort them or have unfairly accused them of wrongdoing.”

A PROBLEM I’M SEEING MORE OF LATELY “Utilization of social media to entrap shoppers and promote cancel tradition.”
THREE WORDS TO DESCRIBE MY APPROACH TO WORK “Inventive, strategic, adaptable.”

Brian Metal

The Metal Legislation Agency 
Between a number of motions to free his shopper Younger Thug from jail on bond and dismiss racketeering prices, Metal has spent a lot of his yr dealing with a sweeping felony case by which prosecutors purpose to make use of the rapper’s lyrics in opposition to him as supposed proof of gang-related exercise. Figuring out all too properly that many circumstances activate jury choice, he’s devoted greater than 10 months to choosing the proper group of Georgians to listen to the case. “Jurors are understanding extra in the present day than beforehand that the felony justice system is biased and will be manipulated by prosecutors and police,” he says. Greater than 1,000 potential jurors have been referred to as.

THE MOST REWARDING PART OF MY JOB IS … “Watching households be reunited when the felony justice system had tried to tear them aside.”
THREE WORDS TO DESCRIBE MY APPROACH TO WORK “Exhausting work, honesty and dedication.”

Jeff Eisen

Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp 
Whereas some attorneys take a cookie-cutter method to property planning, Eisen says stars go to him for recommendation that’s tailor-made to their wants. He’s at present guiding two co-trustees via a minefield of an property left by a “public determine with vital liquidity points and really troublesome beneficiaries.” The agency has dealt with posthumous affairs for Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and Albert Einstein, and Eisen advises the estates of Farrah Fawcett and Muhammad Ali.

THE MOST CHALLENGING PART OF MY JOB IS … “Coping with folks for whom creating drama and rancor appears to be the top objective.”
HOW I UNWIND “Journey and watching sports activities (notably baseball and soccer). My brother is Wealthy Eisen of NFL Community, so it runs within the household — he simply will get to do it for his job!”

Jonathan Forster

Weinstock Manion 
Multigenerational property planning is rarely with out its complications, however Forster prides himself on making advanced points like tax planning methods ultra-understandable for shoppers. After all, as with something having to do with household, relating to trusts and estates, there’s a specific amount of emotion concerned. The important thing, says Forster, “is to show down the warmth on the battle. If you’ll be able to strip a portion of the emotion out of the battle, you can also make higher long-term choices.”

A PROBLEM I’M SEEING MORE OF LATELY “Kids not inquisitive about or able to taking on the household enterprise. Enterprise succession planning has turn out to be tougher.”
HOW I UNWIND “Spending time with my kids. Listening to about their days and watching a present with them is the perfect a part of my day.”

Michele Mulrooney

Willkie Farr & Gallagher 
The mega-wealthy flock to Mulrooney due to her grasp of the ins and outs of leisure offers involving issues like revenue participation, royalties and masters. “It’s important to take into consideration who has management of the copyrights in a musician’s life after passing,” she says. Getting ready for a change to tax legislation in 2026 that can halve the quantity an individual can reward tax-free after passing, Mulrooney has been advising high-net-worth shoppers to make items to trusts for his or her kids now “to reap the benefits of the excessive tax exemption quantity.” She’s additionally carving a distinct segment in her observe by making a pre-immigration tax plan for a public determine aimed toward maximizing advantages earlier than they turn out to be a U.S. citizen.

HOW I UNWIND “Golf or pickleball.”
THREE WORDS TO DESCRIBE MY APPROACH TO WORK “Ardour, empathy, dedication.”

Alyse Pelavin

Loeb & Loeb 
Pelavin, who’s the managing accomplice of the agency’s L.A. workplace and co-chair of its Trusts & Estates group, says transferring “huge quantities of wealth” to philanthropic causes that shoppers care about has been a major a part of her work this yr. She’s additionally been busy restructuring outdated household trusts to present shoppers extra flexibility, and planning forward to keep away from points. “I spend plenty of time with the belief litigators doing defensive planning,” she says, “and considering ahead and modifying an property plan or a belief to restrict litigation sooner or later.”

ONE PIECE OF ADVICE … “Deal with your children equally until there’s a extremely, actually good purpose to not.”
A PROBLEM I’M SEEING MORE OF LATELY “Incapacity of growing old shoppers.”

Robert Strauss

Weinstock Manion
Strauss, who advises A-list actors and offscreen creatives, has been particularly busy with shoppers looking for to implement methods for property tax discount, with the property tax legislation scheduled to vary at the beginning of 2026. Lately, he helped an actual property investor shopper’s household avoid wasting $100 million in property and capital features tax. He credit his success in dealing with advanced points with “discovering the house and time to assume logically and creatively about the absolute best resolution.”

THE MOST CHALLENGING PART OF MY JOB IS … “Explaining technically sophisticated buildings to clever shoppers who’re keen to grasp.”
THE MOST REWARDING PART OF MY JOB IS … “Serving to a shopper to realize precisely what the shopper desires to perform in precisely the way in which the shopper desires it to be completed.”

Adam Streisand

Sheppard Mullin 
Streisand pieced collectively what a number of legislation corporations by no means uncovered when he was tapped by Leonard Cohen’s kids to problem the desire that left management of his $48 million property to Robert Kory, the singer’s former supervisor: Kory had no proper to behave as trustee, as a result of his legal professional cast the belief. Streisand — who additionally represents tennis champ Novak Djokovic and WhatsApp founder Jan Koum — unearthed the forgery in a deposition when he cross-examined that legal professional, Reeve Chudd. “I had Chudd lifeless to rights,” he says. “This then led to Kory’s removing as trustee.”

ONE PIECE OF ADVICE … “Keep away from overestimating and underestimating your loved ones members. Lions of business typically lack perception into their very own relationships, the restrictions of the ability and acumen of relations, their suppressed grievances or jealousies, and willingness to defy the lion or lioness as soon as she or he now not is alive or has full management of his or her schools.”
HOW I UNWIND “I’ve a world life and it brings me nice satisfaction.”

Laura Zwicker

Greenberg Glusker 
Zwicker’s shoppers are principally entrepreneurs in leisure and tech, lots of whom lead more and more world lives. “We’re seeing the world shrinking,” she says, including that coping with immigration and worldwide tax issues is “actually not a press-the-button kind of observe.” She additionally says rich shoppers are being extra intentional with philanthropy. “I’m seeing shoppers giving in methods which are extra focused and concerned,” Zwicker says, “attempting to make use of what they’ve earned to unravel an issue that they’re dedicated to.”

HOW I UNWIND “Studying (nonfiction trendy mysteries).”
THREE WORDS TO DESCRIBE MY APPROACH TO WORK “Cautious, technical, compassionate.”

Tom Clare

Clare Locke 
Whereas Clare factors to the outdated adage that it is best to “by no means decide a struggle with somebody who buys ink by the barrel,” his largest win this yr proves that may now not be the case. He represented Dominion Voting Programs in securing a $787.5 million settlement from Fox Information over its false claims in regards to the 2020 election and notes shoppers are realizing that they “should aggressively defend [themselves] from false reputational assaults.” Requested how others would possibly describe his method to the job, Clare quips, “Proper after I took his deposition, Tucker Carlson referred to as me a ‘slimy little motherfucker’ who ‘triggered the shit out of him.’ I’m not ‘little’ or ‘slimy,’ however the ‘triggered’ half might be true.”

THE MOST REWARDING PART OF MY JOB IS … “Enjoying an essential position within the lives of our extraordinary shoppers.”
THE MOST CHALLENGING PART OF MY JOB IS …“Attempting to be nearly as good as my extremely gifted spouse and legislation accomplice (and fellow “THR Troubleshooter”) Libby Locke. Somebody as soon as launched me as probably the greatest defamation attorneys within the nation, and I needed to right them and disclose that I’m not even the perfect defamation lawyer in my very own kitchen.”

Bryan Freedman

Freedman Taitelman + Cooley 
Don Lemon was terminated from CNN the identical day Carlson was fired from Fox Information, and each turned to Freedman to deal with their exits, which he says reveals “not every part must be political.” He’s additionally advising the universally in style Vanna White in her renegotiation on Wheel of Fortune, representing Quentin Tarantino in his dispute over Pulp Fiction NFTs and main a campaign for actuality TV stars and crew. There’s a typical thread in his assorted (and heavy) caseload: “Discovering a solution to win in any respect prices and a willingness to tackle anybody and everybody to fiercely struggle for my shopper.”

A PROBLEM I’M SEEING MORE OF LATELY “The abuse of social media to affect and persuade narratives about well-known circumstances.”
HOW I UNWIND “Successful.”

Mark Geragos

Geragos & Geragos 
Whereas Geragos takes on high-profile leisure and media shoppers — like former CNN anchor Chris Cuomo and a bunch of stars and crew from NBCUniversal’s actuality TV empire, each of which he’s working with Freedman on — he wouldn’t name himself a Hollywood lawyer. “I do fairly a little bit of civil rights work across the nation, and that’s a number of the most essential work I do,” he says. “I get pleasure from navigating via disaster.” A part of that, he says, is ready out the more and more brief information cycle. “Whenever you’re within the eye of the storm, hold your head down for 72 hours. Another person [will] do one thing that’ll push you off the entrance web page.“

THE MOST CHALLENGING PART OF MY JOB IS … “The worst factor that I encounter is representing dad and mom who’ve misplaced their children. That simply hurts my coronary heart.”
A PROBLEM I’M SEEING MORE OF LATELY “This phenomenon of attempting to shake folks down has turn out to be nearly endemic. It was that you simply turned a goal while you received to a sure stage of success, however now it’s throughout the board.”

Libby Locke

Clare Locke 
Extremely-wealthy (and generally well-known) shoppers flip to Locke to maintain their names out of the papers, shutting down defamation fights earlier than they start with retailers like The New York Occasions and Bloomberg. The litigator, who additionally makes a speciality of PR counseling, advises in opposition to one quite common observe. “Cease saying ‘no remark’ when approached by the press!” she says, including that “it makes you look responsible” and is a “license to defame underneath present authorized requirements.” So what would Locke’s technique be? “Flood the sphere with correct info to vary the narrative.”

HOW I UNWIND “Caribbean seaside. Cocktail. Though his lyrics recommend he didn’t like attorneys a lot, I’d wish to assume Jimmy Buffett can be proud. Could he relaxation in peace.”
THE MOST CHALLENGING PART OF MY JOB IS … “Judges who don’t observe the legislation.”

Luke Nikas

Quinn Emanuel 
Nikas is main Alec Baldwin’s protection within the deadly taking pictures of Rust’s cinematographer. He’s largely been trouncing the opposition, getting the particular prosecutor kicked off the case earlier than acquiring a dismissal of involuntary manslaughter prices in opposition to his shopper, although they could be refiled. He additionally satisfied a decide to toss a $25 million defamation swimsuit in opposition to Baldwin, who was sued for expressing his political opinion in regards to the Jan. 6 revolt. Important to these victories, he says, was “figuring out each contact level — each intersection of curiosity, contract, enterprise deal or website of a possible battle — that would affect the result of the case or the shopper’s status.”

HOW I UNWIND “Spending time with household, operating marathons, studying.”
THREE WORDS TO DESCRIBE MY APPROACH TO WORK “No stone unturned.”

Alex Spiro

Quinn Emanuel
Spiro has proved instrumental as Elon Musk’s level individual on authorized issues. This summer season alone, he despatched a cease-and-desist to Meta chief govt Mark Zuckerberg accusing the corporate of stealing X (then Twitter) commerce secrets and techniques by hiring dozens of former workers to construct a copycat platform. He additionally threatened to sue the Middle for Countering Digital Hate, whose analysis has documented an increase in hate speech on X, for allegedly initiating a “scare marketing campaign to drive away advertisers.” Past Musk, the previous Manhattan prosecutor has labored with Baldwin, Ye and Megan Thee Stallion.

A model of this story first appeared within the Sept. 20 difficulty of The Hollywood Reporter journal. Click on right here to subscribe.