Michael Jackson in Thriller
In the wake of a difficult job market, it’s nice to know that at least a few people are making money. And, while there have been a ton of claimants coming out of the woodwork, trying to get their hands on some of Michael Jackson’s estate (supposedly when MJ died, he left behind more than a legacy; he left behind tens of millions of dollars in debt), there are a certain few who will definitely be getting their share: his lawyers. It appears that the attorneys currently handling MJ’s estate post-mortem are the same ones who handled his affairs during his career. I’m not entirely sure how they bill, but they’re going to be cashing quite a check.
The legal bills have come to $5,185,757.
It’s hard to tell how much of this has been a rolling amount, but one report says that most of the work has been done in the past six months. If we want to assume that $3 million has been done in the last six months, that would come out to one person having worked non-stop for six months straight (yes, billing 24 hours a day) at almost $700 an hour. Or two attorneys billing 12 hours a day at $700. Or four billing 10 hour days at $415. Maybe my math gets off when I see such numbers, don’t check it. Needless to say, these lawyers are making “athlete-money”. If you’re not ashamed to be making this kind of money, maybe you should look at the Man in the Mirror.
These aren’t the first lawyers to have been paid well for their services related to Jackson. The estate paid Tom Mesereau $341,452 for the work he did for MJ’s molestation trial in 2005. Smooth Criminal?
Though MJ has left us, it seems like he is still doing his best to employ many in our field, and for that, we should thank him.
If any of MJ’s current lawyers happen to read this blog, I’ll be graduating in May of 2011. I have the ability to work very hard, for a price similar to what you’re getting. If anyone else had this idea already… Beat It.