Career Interview

Interview

Easter Recess

3/17/2008

Javon Charles Anthony Aries Reinhart Fowler

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Neil Papiano represents not only a slate of movie and TV stars, he's the attorney of choice for several L.A. city officials

BEHIND Neil Papiano's conference table in his law firm's downtown high-rise suite are photos of Elizabeth Taylor, Walter Matthau, Sandra Locke, Joan Collins, Peggy Lee and Ricardo Montalba. They are all his clients. So are legendary jockeys Bill Shoemaker and Laffit Pincay.

But Papiano also moves in a very different world, as a consummate litigator at L.A. City Hall. He is currently representing Councilman Hal Bernson, as well as former Councilman Richard Alatorre in his battle for custody of his sister-in-law's child. Papiano also counts council President John Ferraro among his closest friends. Right now, he's representing the Nederlander organization in its controversial attempt to keep its exclusive contract to operate the Greek Theatre.

Question: How did you end up representing so many celebrities?

Answer: I sort of just happened into it. Back in the early 1970s, I represented some people who sold property to the Nederlanders. After that case, the Nederlander family actually approached me and asked me to represent them. Shortly afterward, Jimmy Nederlander introduced me to Elizabeth Taylor.

Q: What was your first impression of her?

A: Well, that's a funny story. When Jimmy introduced me to her and said she was Elizabeth Taylor, she was wearing a blond wig, so I didn't recognize her. I thought the whole thing was some elaborate joke. It turned out she was doing that to avoid recognition. Let me tell you, it worked. But once I had dinner with her, I found her to be a very charming, very compassionate woman. She is a lot of fun to be around.

Q: And your first big celebrity case, how did that come about?

A: I had done some litigation for Elizabeth Taylor, but there were two really big cases. One involved her perfume; there was a claim by an individual that he had ownership in her perfume. We were able to win that case. The next case was against the National Enquirer, which was settled to our great satisfaction.

Q: But aren't celebrity clients a pain to deal with, making all sorts of demands that other clients wouldn't have the nerve to?

A: Strangely enough, there aren't a lot of differences, and strangely enough, they are probably even better clients than others because they understand their celebrity nature. I haven't represented any of these people that I wouldn't consider to be friends and very easy to work with.

Q: What about the media and paparazzi? Have they become more intrusive over time? How do they affect your cases?

A: I'm a great believer in the free press. But at the same time, the rights of the performer begin where the freedom of the press ends. There is a line that is crossed, when it becomes too intrusive. It's one thing to see a star walking out of a restaurant and to take a photo. It's quite another for a photographer to climb a tree a mile away from someone's house and use one of those telephoto lenses to take pictures of her nude in her own bathroom and then publish those pictures for the whole world to see.

Q: That actually was a case you litigated.

A: Yes, it was Joan Collins. That behavior clearly crossed the line. Now I know it may not be actually setting foot on private property, but this tree was more than a mile away. Surely someone can have a reasonable expectation of privacy under those conditions.

But don't get me started. One of the most outrageous instances of this I've ever seen actually had a member of the press as a victim. During the Liz Taylor perfume trial, all these paparazzi were chasing down the hall after us. One of the cameramen tripped and lay sprawled on the floor. When we saw what happened, both Liz and I turned around to go back and help the cameraman, who was struggling to get all his equipment together. Did the other photographers who were closer lend a hand? No, they actually climbed on top of the guy to get their pictures. That was right down the street, at the downtown L.A. courthouse.

Q: All this celebrity-tinged excitement is a long way from your upbringing in Salt Lake City.

A: Yes, but as far back as when I was 6 or 7, I sort of knew I wanted to be a lawyer. You see, I grew up relatively poor; my father was legally blind and my mother worked as a chocolate-dipper in a local factory. From a very early age, I saw that being a lawyer was a way to make a lot of money and be your own boss. Also, I was fascinated with the law, even as early as grade school.

Q: And now you've got this celebrity clientele, which also has included a number of sports celebrities. How did that begin?

A: I first got involved through (former Oakland Athletics owner) Charlie Finley. He called me one evening and asked me to represent him. This was back in the 1970s, at the height