Meet Mel Gibson's Superstar Lawyer
Aug. 7, 2006 — -- When superstars in Hollywood get in trouble, they go to criminal defense lawyer Blair Berk for help.
In wake of being charged with two misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence for a July 28 incident where he unleashed an anti-Jewish tirade against arresting officers, Mel Gibson has hired criminal lawyer to the stars Blair Berk to lead his defense. Berk has represented celebrities such as Paul Reubens, Cameron Diaz, Lindsay Lohan and Queen Latifah and defended the drunken driving cases of the rich and famous on more than one occasion.
Berk, a Harvard Law School graduate and North Carolina native, represented former "Saturday Night Live" comedian Tracy Morgan and "Growing Pains" child star Tracy Gold after their DUI charges made headlines. In November 2003, Berk represented actress and rapper Dana Elaine Owens -- better known as Queen Latifah --on a reckless driving charge. She had failed a sobriety test and was later sentenced to an alcohol education program.
But Berk's celebrity legal work goes beyond vehicular error. Berk got a call from Ozzy Osbourne after he was accused of causing the 1984 suicide of 19-year-old John McCollum with subliminal messages through the song "Suicide Solution." She used a First Amendment defense of freedom of expression to get Osbourne's case dismissed.
Berk also took on the paparazzi in 2005 after photographer Todd K. Wallace allegedly hit a 5-year-old with his camera and pushed another out of the way to get a shot of Berk's client, Reese Witherspoon. At the time, Berk stated publicly that the tabloids need to know that "battering and endangering a child to get a picture for their magazines is criminal and not business as usual."
Witherspoon and Lohan subsequently testified for Berk in lawsuits against paparazzi.
Why do so many stars put so much trust in Berk?
"Her name is always on the short list" says Alan Mayer, a crisis management consultant to celebrities.
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