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Alan Jackson, the high-profile attorney who quit representing Nick Reiner, the son of legendary director Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner accused of murdering his parents, reportedly avoided becoming a "pariah in Hollywood," insiders told the New York Post on Thursday (January 8).
Jackson, who famously represented Karen Read when she was acquitted of charges of murdering her police officer boyfriend last year, quit the Reiner case on Wednesday (January 7) and told reporters he was legally and ethically barred from "explaining all the reasons" that led to his decision, though legal expert Royal Forest Oakes said he would've faced "backlash" from potential Hollywood clients.
“The backlash is he becomes a pariah in Hollywood because Michele and Rob were beloved. There would be a real chance Hollywood business would dry up,” Oakes said.
“You can count the number of those lawyers on one hand, Alan is on the list,” he added. “You know you’re a pariah in Hollywood when you fall off the short list, you’re on that list or you’re not. You’re going to know you’re off the list when the phone stops ringing.”
Several celebrities who were friends with the Reiners could take the stand in the trial, which means the defense attorney would have to ask difficult questions.
“You are on the wrong side of this whole thing in terms of the facts and popularity,” Oakes said.
Experts previously told the New York Post that Jackson quit the case because Nick Reiner, 32, doesn't have the money to pay for him.
“In the business, we say Mr. Green didn’t show up,” said Neama Rahmani, a former California federal prosecutor who has represented the likes of actress Carmen Electra and former Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel in civil cases via the New York Post.
“Alan Jackson is one of the best,” Rahmani added. “But for a case like this, he’s going to charge at least a seven-figure retainer.
“Nick Reiner doesn’t have the money, if he did he wouldn’t be living in his parents’ guesthouse. And under the California Slayer Statute, you kill your parents — you’re disinherited."
The 'Slayer Statute' prohibits anyone convicted of "intentionally killing" someone from receiving the victims' estate, with the Reiners' estimated to be valued at around $200 million. Reiner has since been reassigned to public defender Kimberly Greene and he will not enter a plea, TMZ reported.
The Reiner family reportedly plans to release a statement on why Jackson is leaving the case at the conclusion of the proceedings. The change came days after Reiner was reported to have been taken off suicide watch at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility ahead of his arraignment for his parents' murders, a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department source confirmed to PEOPLE on Monday (January 5).
Reiner was placed under heightened supervision when he entered the Twin Towers Correctional Facility's system on December 15 and is currently being held in solitary confinement. The 32-year-old is now required to wear a yellow jail-issued shirt and blue pants, with the jail having since removed the suicide-prevention smock he was previously required to wear at all times, according to PEOPLE.
Reiner won't, however, be released from High Observation Housing unless a judge or court rules otherwise and will remain monitored and confined alone. Reiner made his first appearance in a Los Angeles courthouse on December 17 after being charged with two counts of murder in connection with his parents' deaths. Rob and Michele Reiner allegedly got into a "very loud argument" with their son at comedian Conan O'Brien's party, which led to them leaving, prior to their deaths on December 14.
A source had previously told PEOPLE that Nick Reiner was acting erratically at the party.
“Nick was freaking everyone out, acting crazy, kept asking people if they were famous,” an insider told PEOPLE.
Nick had publicly acknowledged his issues with drug addition and homelessness in the past. Rob and Michele Reiner were reported to also have stab wounds to multiple other parts of their bodies, sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to the New York Post.
Rob Reiner, the son of producer, writer and actor Carl Reiner and actress and singer Estelle Reiner, initially gained national prominence playing Mike 'Meathead' Stivic on All in the Family and is credit with numerous acting roles during a career that spanned seven decades. The New York City native made his directorial debut with the heavy metal mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap (1984) -- having released a sequel earlier this year -- which was followed up by The Sure Thing (1985), Stand By Me (1986), The Princess Bride (1987), When Harry Met Sally...(1989), Misery (1990) and A Few Good Men (1992).