March 19, 2008

Spitzer: The Oceanography Angle

LilB pointed me earlier today to a piece in the New York Post about Spitzer's hooker and her legal options, and it quoted a curiously named jurist:

"If she's made that much money in that short amount of time, that would certainly make her ineligible for taxpayer-supported legal fees," defense attorney Steve Zissou said.
Yes, that's right: there's a lawyer out there who shares a name with the Bill Murray's protagonist in the 2003 Wes Anderson film "The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou." Zissou is also the attorney of record for NFL star Travis Henry, who last year was accused of fathering nine children by nine different women; no word on whether or not there's a disgraced oceanograper out there whose name is Royal Tenenbaum.

Here's a 2005 profile of Zissou the lawyer; here's my favorite part:

"When I found out it was part of the title, I was a little annoyed. It's a unique name, and I really didn't want to share it," says Zissou, 49, but he observes he had few legal options because Anderson's film wasn't directly about him.

"They could have made a movie about a New York lawyer who was an anti-Semitic terrorist pedophile, and I still couldn't do anything about it," Zissou says. "If it's about the real Steve Zissou, then maybe you have a shot, but then you have to prove damages."

And yes, his law practice is called Steve Zissou and Associates; not Team Zissou. Though I hear he's the guy to call to file suit if a shark kills your friend.

Posted by Stephen Silver at March 19, 2008 04:34 PM
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