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Sean Combs is relying on his formidable legal team to defend him against the federal charges that he led a racketeering conspiracy that engaged in sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice, among other crimes. The once-successful record mogul and entrepreneur, who has been incarcerated at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn for the past eight months, hired eight high-powered attorneys — four women and four men — in a desperate bid to secure his freedom. Each attorney comes in with their own legal track record — one lawyer recently defended Young Thug against charges of racketeering and other charges; one represented Young Thug’s co-defendant Quamarvious “Qua” Nichols, who was charged with conspiracy to violate Georgia’s RICO Act and murder; two attorneys previously worked as U.S. Attorneys; and one clerked for former Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Criminal-defense attorney Joe Tacopina, who recently won his own high-profile not-guilty verdict for A$AP Rocky after he was facing charges of felony assault, told Vulture that Combs’s attorneys need to be “trial warriors” prepared for “war” if they expect to win. “When you represent someone in a fight for their lives, once you’re in that well, the well of the court, you’re in the trenches,” Tacopina said, adding that Combs’s team will come under intense pressure not just in court but also outside dealing with the crush and constant questions from the media.

“When your every move is being scrutinized and evaluated, all that stuff, it can get to you,” Tacopina said. His advice to Combs’s team: Don’t look at any of the news reports and analysis during trial and stay mission-oriented on the task at hand. Tacopina said it would be up to Combs’s attorneys to humanize their client, explain to the jury the reason behind some very emotionally charged evidence and at times be even harder on Combs than the prosecution.

“These 12 people in a box will see very emotionally charged pieces of evidence, and you’re going to have to get them to understand that emotions don’t fit the void where the evidence should be,” Tacopina added.

Below, a closer look at the major players on Sean Combs’s legal team:

The Winner: Marc Agnifilo

Combs’s co-lead attorney Agnifilo bills himself as someone who “has won acquittal in many of the most complex and difficult trials in America.” According to his firm’s website, he has tried more than 200 cases over his 30-year legal career, previously working in the U.S. Attorney’s office and as a Manhattan district attorney. “He’s very skilled,” said criminal-defense attorney Mark Geragos, who is currently representing the Menendez brothers trying to secure their freedom after spending more than 35 years in jail for the murder of their parents. “I’ve watched him do cross-examinations and he’s one of the finest lawyers I’ve seen at trial.” Agnifilo is also married to Karen Friedman Agnifio, and they are both currently defending 27-year-old Luigi Mangione in his murder case for the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

The Nepo Baby: Teny Geragos

Even though Geragos is a third-generation criminal-defense attorney — the daughter of Hollywood celebrity defense attorney Mark Geragos and granddaughter of Paul Geragos, deputy district attorney in Los Angeles County for more than 13 years — Teny has made her own way in the criminal-defense arena. She worked for Legal Aid while at Loyola Law School and then spent eight years working on high-stakes criminal cases including sexual assault, securities fraud, and wire fraud for Ben Brafman, who is currently defending Harvey Weinstein. In March 2024, she joined forces with Agnifilo, becoming one of the founding partners of their Agnifilo Intrater firm. Geragos doesn’t take an old-school stodgy legal approach, more apt to jump on TikTok in an attempt to dismantle multiple civil cases against Combs through pointing to tweets, media stories, and text messages. “She’s incredibly well-prepared and works harder than virtually anyone,” Mark Geragos said. “She’s got her grandfather’s work ethic.”

The Hot Shot: Brian Steel

Steel has a reputation for being intensely loyal to his clients, previously doing so as lead attorney to Young Thug in his YSL racketeering conspiracy trial. He was so devoted that in the middle of Young Thug’s trial, the lawyer was held in contempt and placed in custody by the judge. Georgia’s longest trial was expected to last until 2027, but it ended early after 170 days, when Young Thug (real name Jeffrey Williams) pleaded guilty to six charges including firearm possession and participation in criminal street activity. Despite being sentenced to 40 years, he was released from custody because he had already served 900 days in custody while awaiting trial and was ordered to serve the rest of his sentence on probation as part of his plea deal. Williams was facing a maximum of a 12-year prison sentence if he was convicted on all charges. In November 2024, Young Thug FaceTimed Emory Law School students as Steel held up his phone, encouraging students to go law school. “The justice system could be very bad … You got to always look at it that they are there to put us in prison and you guys are there to keep us from prison,” he told them. “Brian Steel is the best person possible. He’s very pedagogical and he should be a professor.”

Atlanta criminal-defense attorney Bruce Harvey, who co-represented Young Thug’s co-defendant Nichols, agreed. “Brian is a meticulous lawyer, always very thorough and prepared — leaves no stone unturned,” Harvey said.

The Late Addition: Nicole Westmoreland

Only a week before the trial was set to start, Combs brought on Atlanta-based attorney Westmoreland to join his legal team. Westmoreland recently served as co-counsel with Harvey to Young Thug’s co-defendant Nichols, where at one point she argued unsuccessfully that prosecutors purposefully withheld evidence: “I’m just asking the rules be enforced.” Ultimately, her client Nichols accepted the prosecution’s deal, pleaded guilty to the RICO conspiracy charge, and was sentenced to 20 years, with seven of those years in custody and the remaining 13 on probation. Per the deal, the prosecution dismissed Nichols’s remaining charges, including murder and two counts of gang activity. Westmoreland herself is an outspoken survivor of sexual assault. Birdman’s brother, Alfred Cleveland, then-president of Cash Money Records, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault with intent to rape in 2008, seven years after she reported the incident.

“Nicole is a very accomplished trial lawyer who can adjust well on her feet,” said Harvey. “I am not privy to how either will be integrated into the trial plan,” he added, “so we all will wait to see how the team works together.”

The ‘Appellate Guru’: Alexandra A.E. Shapiro

Founding partner of New York firm Shapiro Arato Bach, Shapiro began her legal career more than 30 years ago serving as one of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s first clerks. She specializes in white-collar defense and complex civil litigation. Two other attorneys from her firm will also be assisting in Combs’s defense. Mark Geragos said Shapiro is known as the “appellate guru,” which potentially indicates Combs might already be preparing for an appeal. She’s also a budding fiction writer and has written a book titled Presumed Guilty. (No, not the novel by famed author Scott Turow with the exact same title.) Shapiro’s novel isn’t about a murder but about a hedge-fund manager fighting to prove her innocence of a white-collar crime. Here’s another one for the books.

 He’s assembled the Avengers of criminal defense, including Young Thug’s lawyer and Mark Geragos’s daughter.