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There's still time for an eighth.
By Isaac Serna-Diez — Written on Nov 07, 2022
This has been a pretty tumultuous year for Kanye west.
The former billionaire rapper, who now goes by Ye has been struggling to get through his divorce from ex-wife Kim Kardashian and has been steadily decreasing his public standing with frequent outbursts about seemingly random subjects.
Things took a nose dive once his speech became hateful and targeted the Jewish population, causing those around him to question their connections to him.
Oftentimes, those bridges were burned, and the most important bridges being burned were from Ye’s legal counsel who helped him with all of his legal problems.
Here’s why each of Kanye West’s 7 lawyers dropped him as a client this year.
1. Nina D. Boyajian from Greenberg Traurig.
Earlier this year, a production company named Phantom Labs sued Ye in a $7 million lawsuit.
The company worked with the rapper on several large-scale production projects like his Sunday Service and the Free Larry Hoover event with Drake in Los Angeles.
In the lawsuit, as reported by RadarOnline, they claimed that Ye has left multiple outstanding invoices totaling $6 million.
Ye signed Nina D. Boyajian from the law firm Greenberg Traurig to help fight his case, but she recently told the court that she would be withdrawing her involvement.
RadarOnline reported that she told the court that Ye “publicly made improper antisemitic remarks, resulting in his condemnation by and disassociation from various entities and persons that previously worked with or represented him.”
She said that as a result of team members leaving him, she is “unable to meaningfully communicate with [West] in order to represent them in this matter.”
2. Nicholas Gravante from Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft.
Nicholas Gravante, under the Cadwalader law firm, represented Ye in September 2022 in his efforts to release himself from his contract with Gap.
As reported by Bloomberg Law, the group has officially cut all ties with the rapper.
“We are not presently providing any representation and have no intention of providing any future representation,” a Cadwalader spokesman said via email.
Although they did not give an expressly concise statement as to why they were splitting off from Ye, it’s highly likely that it’s a result of his increasingly anti-semitic hate speech as they added that they condemned "bigotry and hate speech of any kind."
3. Michael Fazio with Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan.
Michael Fazio was part of the coalition of lawyers that were assisting Ye in the business deals with Gap.
In a similar statement to Cadwalader, they announced that they were no longer representing him.
"QE has withdrawn from representing Mr. West and will not represent him in the future," William Burck, co-managing partner of the firm, said in a statement, reported by Reuters.
4. Johnny Depp’s former lawyer, Camille Vasquez with the Brown Rudnick firm.
A hire that was surprising for many, TMZ reported that Ye signed Vasquez, who went viral after defending Johnny Depp in his defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard, to help him handle a variety of different legal fronts.
The team was reportedly not hired to help Ye with his divorce but worked in a similar fashion as the aforementioned lawyers to help with business deals and contracts.
After continuing to spout his hate speech, Vasquez reported to the firm that she would no longer represent the rapper.
According to TMZ, the firm made an attempt to continue working with Ye so long as he retracted his past antisemitic and hateful speech, but in his refusal, decided to fire the firm.
5. Bernard Clair and Bob Cohen from New York Cohen Clair Lans Griefer Thorpe & Rottenstreich LLP.
The latest in his cycle of divorce lawyers, the pair of Bernard Clair and Bob Cohen were representing him in the proceedings with Kardashian.
Destined to end regardless of Ye’s hate speech, Clair and Cohen decided to bow out early, confirming that they would no longer represent the rapper.
A source told Page Six news that “The firm is no longer representing Kanye West.”
6. Samantha Spector from Spector Law.
Labeled a Southern California "Super Lawyer," Samantha Spector founded her own law firm focused on family law and has worked on several high-profile celebrity cases, including Amber Heard and Nicole Young.
Spector was hired to be West’s fifth divorce lawyer, but after a few months, claimed that “her relationship with Kanye was irretrievably broken,” as reported by TMZ.
She had asked the judge to relieve her as Ye’s counsel and was promptly allowed to withdraw.
Spector never offered a reason as to why their relationship had deteriorated.
7. Chris Melcher from Walzer Melcher LLP.
Chris Melcher was Ye’s divorce lawyer before Spector and was the divorce lawyer to ring in the new year with Ye.
Another popular celebrity lawyer, Ye hoped that Melcher would be able to get him what he wanted out of his divorce with Kardashian, amounting to another failed relationship.
TMZ reported that “the relationship between Ye and Melcher had become extremely difficult, with little communication.”
They continued, claiming that he would often say he simply wanted to settle things with Kardashian and then switch to wanting to fight.
Ye has been dropped by seven different lawyers in the last year, but 2022 isn’t over yet.
Although it might be hard for Ye to find another lawyer or law firm willing to work for him, anything could happen.
Isaac Serna-Diez is an Assistant Editor who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics. Keep up with his rants about current events on his Twitter.