Bridgeport lawyer joins Michael Jackson legal team

Published on the Internet 02:00 p.m., Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Connecticut Post

The children and mother of pop star Michael Jackson have reached out to a Bridgeport lawyer for help in their wrongful death lawsuit against the late singer’s concert promoter.

Attorney Michael Koskoff has joined the legal team representing Katherine Jackson, the singer’s mother, and his three children against AEG Live, the company that was producing his planned tour, and other defendants, according to papers filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court earlier this month.

Koskoff is a principal of the law firm Koskoff, Koskoff and Bieder and has practiced law in Connecticut for more than 30 years. The firm, which additionally has offices in Bridgeport and New Haven, has specialized in malpractice cases and typically gets much of its work from other law firms.

A spokesperson for Koskoff said he was not able to comment on his role in the Jackson case.

Jackson died on June 25, 2009. Dr. Conrad Murray is now on trial for involuntary manslaughter in connection with Jackson’s death from a drug overdose.

The lawsuit filed by Katherine Jackson accuses AEG of hiring Murray and forcing Jackson to agree to be under his care or to risk having the tour canceled and that the company influenced Murray to act without adhering to proper medical standards.

AEG attorneys have said the company could not have realized that Murray’s medical decisions would have resulted in Jackson’s death.

In February, a Superior Court judge ruled the wrongful death case could proceed, but made it clear the plaintiffs would need to show evidence of fraud, negligent infliction of emotional distress and civil conspiracy, according to a Reuters report.