From Secret Agent to Shakespeare: How to Be A Lawyer to the Stars

We interviewed Miles Cooley, famous for defending names like Rihanna, 50 Cent, Lenny Kravitz and Jay-Z

[Translated from original in Portuguese by FTLLP]

Miles Cooley, the lawyer of the Los Angeles stars (Photo: Disclosure)
Miles Cooley, the lawyer of the Los Angeles stars (Photo: Disclosure)

Most lawyers are made up of anonymous people, but some have become stars for taking care of famous cases. And others become stars for taking care of stars. This is the case with Miles Cooley.

One of the best-known lawyers in Los Angeles, Cooley gained fame for having as clients names such as Rihanna, 50 Cent, Jay-Z and Lenny Kravitz, among others. In one of his greatest feats in court, he recovered 50 stolen recordings of Jay-Z, valued at more than $30 million.

We talked to Cooley to understand more about his work – and to know what it’s like to be the star lawyer. See how it went:

GQ: What were your master moves to win the cases of Jay-Z and Rihanna? We want to understand what exactly these cases were about.

Miles Cooley: I worked on several cases for both of them. The most memorable was for Jay-Z, the case of the disappearance of his original recordings, in which we had to use some secret agent tricks to get the recordings back. It was full days.

And the case of Rihanna, how was it?

Working for Rihanna is always an adventure, there is always something challenging and interesting involved. We sued the Top Shop in London for putting her face on t-shirts without your permission and, even with the law against us, we won. In fact, after that, we ended up making a new law in the area of intellectual property in the United Kingdom.

Do you remember any big case that you swore not to be possible to win, but ended up being able to fulfill your role?

I’ve never had a case in which I thought: “This is impossible to win”. Maybe I’m an eternal optimist or just crazy, but I always think I have a chance to win.

For you, a Civil Rights expert, does Donald Trump’s administration look like a threat?

Well, there are not enough words to describe my negative feelings about him, so I’ll let it go. I am very concerned about your attacks on immigrants, women and minority rights. We must work hard and remain vigilant to ensure that all Americans and immigrants are protected. We have to resist. I am on the board of directors of a group called the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and we are very, very busy at the moment.

And what was the most unusual case that has ever fallen into your hands?

I was hired by a couple of adoptive parents to find their teenage daughter who had undergone a brainwash and was kidnapped by her biological parents – who happened to be the brother and sister-in-law of the adoptive parents. Then I was hired to sue the kidnappers as soon as I found her. I was happy to be the lawyer on the good side of the family and that we won. It was all very Shakespearean, but extremely rewarding.

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