European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 8, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Magazine comeuppance for celebrity lawyer Marvi Mitchelson by David Margolick new York times Arvin Mitchelson the lawyer who added Alimony to the Legal lexicon and who counselled celebrities from Bianca Jagger to Carl Sagan to Joan Collins remains As much As Ever in the Public Eye. But suddenly the spotlight has turned harsh and penetrating. Last week the state bar of California charged that in six separate instances Mitchelson either charged clients unconscionable amounts of Money tailed to return unearned fees or performed his work badly. Bar officials Are now investigating at least 12 additional complaints against him and More Are pouring in daily. Should any of the charges which Mitchelson either denies or disparages be upheld he would face sanctions ranging from warnings to disbarment. But his troubles do not end there. In the past year two California appellate courts have fined him a total of $40,000 for bringing frivolous appeals. He faces dozens of lawsuits from disgruntled clients on both coasts. Six women including five former clients have accused Mitchelson of rape three of them publicly on the lbs news program 60 minutes. Two of the six have filed charges. And in the past few years Mitchelson has had numerous tax liens judgments and attachments filed against him for non payment of Bills by people in Trade newspaper clipping services and most frequently the irs. Whether on the merits or out of envy Mitchelson has never been popular among his Peers. To them his rash of problems simply Marks the Long overdue comeuppance of a self promoter intoxicated by his own Success. But whether admirers or detractors clients opposing counsel or judges those who have watched him in recent years depict Mitchelson As increasingly erratic emotional distracted and ineffective. His problems were apparent in the two cases in which he was fined. One judge called Mitchelson s work in a real estate dispute grossly misleading and generally  to Mitchelson it is not that his work or his moral standards have slipped but that his enemies have proliferated. They now include the state bar which he says is persecuting him to score Points with the Public and Hugh Hefner the founder of Playboy Magazine. Mitchelson said Hefner was Bent on revenge because he represented Hefner s former companion Carrie Leigh in a Short lived Alimony Case. Hefner denied the accusation although he called Mitchelson a very Sleazy fellow and the lawsuit a Shakedown and a publicity stunt brought to keep the lawyer in the Public Eye and to attract new celebrity  mostly though Mitchelson said his enemies consisted of his own clientele. People who be been involved in relationships that have gone awry Are More disturbed than anyone he said recently sitting on his throne Tike chair in his Century City office. Oftentimes they become mentally imbalanced. I probably attract More crazies than anyone in the world and i try to help them. It s the Bane of my existence Marvin Mitchelson has a hard time saying no " Mitchelson predicted he would survive his current a file photo attorney Marvin Mitchelson accompanying actress Joan Collins to a session at los Angeles county court. Problems and emerge As Strong As  but he acknowledged that he Felt flayed by the attacks and that publicity the very tool he used to build his career could now just As easily imperil it. Up to now such strife has been a stranger in the career of Mitchelson 60. For years he has led the kind of fairy tale life befitting a top Hollywood lawyer. In his magical world even defeats turned into Public relations Bonanza. For instance Mitchelson did not win a Penny for Michele triola the first Alimony plaintiff the California courts found that she had never made the requisite contract to share property with her Lover the actor Lee Marvin. To this Day Mitchelson has never actually won a Alimony Case in court. But the publicity surrounding the triola Marvin Case brought in newer and Richer clients and made him arguably the most famous lawyer in the world. Over time Mitchelson became to the Law what Liberace was to music an endearing egomaniac who spent lavishly lived garishly and seemed almost to relish the ridicule of his More Strait laced Peers. He drove a Rolls Royce lived in a 27-room mansion in Beverly Hills and furnished his office bathroom with a Jacuzzi wallpaper depicting nymphets and pillows with images of his late Mother. But while his Fame has increased so too has dissatisfaction with his work. For the most part the problems have not come from his celebrity clients but from More obscure people who dazzled by what they have read about him have sought his services. They have charged Mitchelson with failing either to earn or return retainers delegating cases to underlings and adjuncts after promising to handle matters himself making himself impossible to reach leaving vital work undone or missing crucial filing deadlines and generally acting oddly even irrationally. Friday july 8, 1988 one client noted How Mitchelson bowed out of a scheduled meeting citing a broken Arm Only to discover him on Donahue three Days later flailing away. Another recalled him pacing around his bedroom office at new York s Regency hotel exclaiming i m a lawyer at least 15 times during their half hour meeting. Mitchelson said the volume of complaints proved Only that Many of his clients had unrealistic expectations. While he has made various fee adjustments he said Only two malpractice cases against him have Ever been tried and he won both of them. Still he has had trouble paying some of his Bills. After his checks bounced both the new York Law firm of Chadbourne & Parke and sir Leonard Knowles a former chief Justice of the supreme court of the Bahamas took Mitchelson to court for payment. Knowles collected Only after placing a Lien on Mitchelson s House. Another lawyer Evelyn j. Gruen of Simi calif., was so sceptical of Mitchelson s solvency that she asked a court to protect her share of a Legal fee lest Mitchelson spend it before the dispute was settled. Los Angeles county records submitted with Gruen s complaint show that in january 1987 the irs claimed Mitchelson owed $468,450 in Back income taxes for the years 1978,1979 and 1981. Two months later it sought an additional $122,277, while in March 1987 California tax authorities claimed he owed $70,640 in state income taxes. In january rotheby s sued him to collect the $1,000,000 he owes for two pieces of jewelry once owned by the Duchess of Windsor. Mitchelson insists that the dispute is simply Over whether payment should be in dollars or Swiss francs and that he plans to sell at least one of the items anyway. I bought it in Honor of my Mother and frankly she d have disapproved he explained. The stars and stripes Page 13