American attorney, famous for palimony cases, self-promotion and personal flamboyance, once the world’s highest-paid lawyer. He gained note for the $2 million dollar settlement he won for Pamela Mason in her divorce case against actor James Mason, and for the palimony suit brought against Lee Marvin by Michelle Triola in 1976.
Mitchelson grew up in a poor family in Los Angeles, the youngest of three children and the only son of Russian immigrants. He graduated from Los Angeles High School, and after serving in the Navy, earned an undergraduate degree from UCLA. He attended Southwestern University School of Law and passed the California Bar on the second try.
In the late ‘50s, he set up an office. In 1964, he took over the divorce case of Pamela Mason: she was asking for the unheard of (at the time) settlement of $1 million. Threatened privately with disclosure of private matters that might embarrass him, the actor settled out of court for $2 million and established Mitchelson as the Number One divorce lawyer. Among Mitchelson’s other clients were Bianca (the ex-Mrs.. Mick) Jagger, and actress Joan Collins. In one of the very few cases that he lost, Vicky Morgan’s against Bloomindales, he was fired by Morgan. He became known for living a grand lifestyle, owning a 35-room mansion and four Rolls-Royce’s.
In later years Mitchelson had his own run-ins with the law. On 6/26/1988, “60 Minutes” featured a story in which two women accused Mitchelson of rape. However, a grand jury and the office of California’s state attorney general did not prosecute. A pattern of questionable financial and ethical behavior began to plague Mitchelson and he spent a good part of the mid-‘80s dodging accusations for malpractice, allegedly keeping unearned money from clients who asked for refunds, and running up gambling debts.
On 4/12/1993, Mitchelson was sentenced to 30 months in prison for four felony counts of tax fraud, and for hiding nearly $2 million in income between 1983 and 1986. He was ordered to pay $2,158,796 in restitution, which included taxes due and interest. The State Bar of California put him on seven-year suspension. Since his release from prison, he has worked as a paralegal and consultant to other lawyers. On 5/15/2000, the suspension was lifted and the 72-year-old attorney was again free to practice.
The divorce attorney to the stars died of cancer at age 76 on September 18, 2004 at the Rehabilitation Center of Beverly Hills.
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