Taylor Swift's Lawyer On Effective Trial Strategy For Celebrity Clients

He encouraged her to be herself on the stand and testify with blunt honesty.

Taylor Swift (Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage)

Earlier this month, country crossover pop superstar Taylor Swift put on quite the show at a six-day federal trial, where she gave incredibly strong testimony about the radio disc jockey who “grabbed [her] bare ass” during a pre-concert meet-and-greet session in 2013.

David Mueller, the DJ who allegedly groped Swift, lost his job over the incident, and sued her (and her mother and radio promotions director Frank Bell) for $3 million in a suit with claims of interference with contractual obligations and tortious interference with business relations. Swift countersued for assault and battery, asking for a symbolic $1 in damages. Thanks to her incredibly powerful testimony in court, Swift won her case and Mueller’s claims against the singer were dismissed.

Standing behind Swift and guiding her through the litigation process was her lawyer, Venable partner J. Douglas Baldridge, an unlikely choice to represent one of the most popular recording artists in the world. Although his claim to legal fame resulted from winning complex, bet-the-company, pay-for-delay pharmaceutical cases, Baldridge refers to himself as a “garbage man” because he “[does] a little bit of everything” — and he loves being in court.

He first met Swift in 2014 when she was sued for trademark infringement, and has been by her side ever since. Here’s more from his interview with Law.com:

He has nothing but praise for the singer, who he described as one of the most genuine people he has ever met. “She’s a principled person, and I’m not just saying that because she’s my client,” he said. “She has an incredibly low ego for someone so famous. She listens, she’s a very quick study … She contributed to the defense.”

And that’s exactly how the case was won. Baldridge knew how important it was to Swift “to be who she is,” so he encouraged her to be herself on the stand and testify with blunt honesty, which led to brilliant exchanges like this:

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One key piece of evidence was a photo snapped at the meet-and-greet where Mueller’s hand, while not actually visible, appears to be suspiciously low on Swift’s backside.

Mueller’s attorney, Gabe McFarland, conceded the photo was “awkward” but said there was nothing visibly inappropriate happening.

Addressing him by first name, Swift on the stand responded, “Gabe, this is a photo of him with his hand up my skirt—with his hand on my ass. You can ask me a million questions—I’m never going to say anything different. I never have said anything different.”

As Baldridge correctly stated in court, “Grabbing a woman’s rear end is an assault, and it’s always wrong. Any woman—rich, poor, famous, or not—is entitled to have that not happen.” Congratulations to both Taylor Swift and J. Douglas Baldridge on winning the case, and forcefully and effectively setting the record straight for celebrities who must litigate sexual assault claims in court.

Taylor Swift’s Lawyer Tells All [Law.com]


Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky has been an editor at Above the Law since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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