Alec Baldwin’s celebrity lawyer helps ‘keep the rich and famous above the law’ – Boston Herald

SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO – JULY 8: (LR) Attorneys Alex Spiro, Alec Baldwin and Luke Nikas and Heather LeBlanc attend a preliminary hearing at the First Judicial District Courthouse in Santa Fe, New Mexico on July 8, 2024. Baldwin is charged with manslaughter in connection with the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film “Rust.” (Photo by Ross D. Franklin – Pool/Getty Images)

Alec Baldwin was not the only celebrity to appear in a New Mexico courtroom on Monday morning.

The controversial actor was there a day before he is due to go on trial for manslaughter in connection with the death of camerawoman Halyna Hutchins while filming on the movie set.

Baldwin sat at the defense table alongside an elite team of lawyers who made closing arguments before New Mexico First Judicial District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer about what evidence can be presented at trial.

One of the team’s lead attorneys is Alex Spiro, one of the country’s best-known trial lawyers who, according to a 2023 New Yorker profile, has become a celebrity in his own right by defending a high-profile roster of clients that includes Elon Musk, Jay-Z, Robert Kraft and Megan Thee Stallion.

The 41-year-old Harvard Law School graduate specializes in “protecting the rich and famous from the consequences of their worst decisions,” says the profile, headlined “How Alex Spiro Keeps the Rich and Famous Above the Law.”

During Monday’s hearing, Spiro left most of the arguments for the motions to his partner Luke Nikas, of the Quinn, Emanuel, Urquhart & Sullivan firm. But once the trial begins Tuesday, Spiro could play a much more prominent role, as he is known to enjoy the work of being in court. The New Yorker reported that the former Manhattan district attorney is doing most of the opening and closing arguments and cross-examination himself.

Spiro is known for “his blunt charm, which clients and juries find beguiling,” and for his “combative style” and “aggressive” cross-examination of witnesses, which he likens to creating a “painting” and telling a “riveting, interwoven story,” according to both The New Yorker and Associated Press. He is sought after by high-profile entertainers and business leaders because of his record of winning high-profile cases.

For example, he successfully defended Musk in a defamation suit brought by a British cave explorer in Thailand, whom the Tesla CEO had falsely referred to as a “pedo guy” on Twitter in 2018 as both men attempted to rescue members of a boys’ soccer team trapped in a flooded cave. Spiro later became a member of Musk’s “inner circle” and his “lawyer of choice,” particularly during his 2022 acquisition of Twitter, which saw mass layoffs and a reduction of the San Francisco-based social media platform’s workforce by as much as 50% in a matter of days.

But such legal representation is not cheap, which has reportedly become a problem for Baldwin. Since Hutchins’ death, he has lost job opportunities, his “financial situation has continued to deteriorate” and he has begun “shifting some of his real estate holdings,” the New York Times reported last month.

Baldwin is supporting his controversial influencer wife Hilaria Baldwin and their seven young children. The family has announced that they will soon appear on a reality TV show about their hectic lives. The Emmy-winning “30 Rock” star also faces mounting legal bills related to Hutchins’ death, which occurred while he was rehearsing a scene for the western film “Rust.” Baldwin was holding a gun and pointed it at Hutchins when a live bullet accidentally went off, killing the cameraman and injuring director Joel Souza.

Among Baldwin’s many challenges is that he is “months behind” in paying his share of the multimillion-dollar civil settlement to Hutchins’ family in a wrongful death lawsuit her husband filed in 2022, a lawyer for Hutchins’ husband told the New York Times.

Meanwhile, it was reported that Spiro charged a client, JP Morgan Chase, $2,025 an hour in 2023 to work on a fraud case, according to Politico. While the bank argued that it was being overcharged, Spiro’s high hourly rate has become a source of controversy in New York City after it was revealed in April that the city had hired Spiro to represent Mayor Eric Adams in a lawsuit accusing him of sexually harassing a city colleague in 1993. Taxpayers are footing the bill for Spiro’s services, although the city insists she gets a significant discount, according to Politico.

Spiro works out of the Miami office of his law firm, which has 33 offices around the world, The New Yorker reported. More than 100 people work with Spiro at the firm, and he juggles about 50 cases at a time. A single large case can involve four partners, eight other lawyers among them, and a handful of paralegals, researchers and investigators, The New Yorker further reported.

Spiro calls his legal team his “cavalry,” the New Yorker also reported. They handle much of the day-to-day preparation, including drafting briefs. But once the case goes to trial, Spiro is known to take on a major role because, as he told the New Yorker, he compares the atmosphere in the courtroom to “me in my swimming pool.”

The New Yorker said he had “undeniably a lot of courtroom appeal.” Spiro said his “secret sauce” was his photographic memory. “That and my ability to sleep three and a half hours a day and process information quickly,” he told the New Yorker. “Without those things, I would have no chance of surviving.”

As a trial lawyer, Spiro is also known for being “smart about jury selection,” looking for people he can “take for a cup of coffee and convince them of his point of view.” Jury selection for Baldwin’s trial is set to begin Tuesday. Jurors will come from Santa Fe County, with some legal experts saying local jurors are not easily swayed by Baldwin’s celebrity or the arguments of high-paid New York lawyers.

But prosecutors must overcome hurdles to convict Baldwin of manslaughter, for which he could face 18 months in prison if convicted, The Guardian reported. Prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Baldwin used the gun negligently and that he showed complete disregard or indifference to the safety of others. They are expected to argue that he was reckless in his production.

For reasons that remain a mystery, a live round ended up in the revolver Baldwin was holding during his rehearsals with Hutchins and Souza. In March, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the film’s gunsmith, was convicted of manslaughter after prosecutors argued she failed to follow basic safety protocols and allowed a live round to end up in the gun along with blanks. She was sentenced to 18 months in prison in April.

Spiro and Baldwin’s other lawyers will try to prove that it is not an actor’s job to make sure his gun does not contain real ammunition. He also told investigators that he was informed that the gun was safe to use.

Baldwin’s lawyers also plan to challenge the gun evidence and the severe damage to the revolver during an FBI test, the Associated Press reported. The lawyers say the evidence was destroyed before the defense could have its own experts examine it.

Baldwin said in a 2021 interview with ABC News and suggested in interviews with police that he never pulled the revolver’s trigger. However, the jury is expected to hear testimony from firearms experts who claim the revolver was functioning properly and could not have fired without pulling the trigger, the AP reported. A key witness could also be Zac Sneesby, a crew member who held a boom microphone during the rehearsal. The AP said he will testify that he saw Baldwin pull the trigger.