Michael Jackson's One-Man Dream Team
Nov. 21 -- Even before his dealings with the King of Pop, Mark Geragos ranked among the biggies of high-profile defense lawyers. He's one of Hollywood's legal leading men and a go-to guy for well-known criminal defendants of the magnitude of Scott Peterson.
In taking on Michael Jackson's case, though, Geragos has catapulted himself to another stratosphere in the universe of celebrity lawyers — the universe occupied by the likes of O.J. Simpson's "Dream Team" members Johnnie Cochran, Alan Dershowitz and F. Lee Bailey.
"It has been a natural progression of very high-profile cases for [Geragos]," said Laurie Levenson, a Loyola University law professor. "He's off on an international level now. I'm not sure you can take it much higher."
On Thursday, Geragos was the public face of the beleaguered pop star, speaking to a worldwide audience after Jackson was marched handcuffed into the Santa Barbara County, Calif., jail. "He considers this to be a big lie," Geragos said.
It's a performance for which Geragos has apparently prepared. ABC News has learned that for the last several months, while making headlines defending Peterson in one of the most high-profile murder cases of the decade, Geragos has quietly been working for Jackson on this case in advance of child molestation allegations.
Geragos' roster of big-publicity cases goes back years, and he is well-known for his media savvy and bravado. Geragos has been a showy advocate of his clients outside the courtroom as well as inside.
When a jury acquitted his client Susan McDougal of obstruction of justice in Ken Starr's Whitewater investigation in 1999, Geragos had nasty things to say about the independent counsel.
"This guy should pack up and get out of here," Geragos said. "I'm happy to be the one, along with Susan, to wish him bon voyage. But get the heck out of Arkansas, and do it now. Nobody wants to see you."
Ryder, Downey Were Clients
Geragos also defended former President Clinton's brother Roger in a drunken driving case. He represented the actor and repeat defendant Robert Downey Jr. on drug charges.
