Neil Papiano

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Neil Papiano is an American entertainment lawyer. He was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. He is the managing partner at the Los Angeles, California based law firm Iverson, Yoakum, Papiano & Hatch.

Papiano attended Stanford University as an undergraduate, where he played baseball and football. He is a graduate of Vanderbilt University Law School.

In the later 1960s, Papiano turned down a judgeship offered by then-California Governor Ronald Reagan, so that he could continue to actively practice law as a litigator. He was a member of U.S.O. Board of Governors 1967 - 1976.

In 1985, the National Enquirer ran an erroneous front page story replete with pictures of Papiano along with Elizabeth Taylor, with the cover story headline teaser, "Elizabeth's New Beau?"

He was a member of the Board of Trustees of American University, Washington D.C., from 1981-1995, and is currently on the Board of Advisors of the Alzheimer's Association of Los Angeles.

A last minute change of heart by long-time Cleveland Indians owner F.J. "Steve" O'Neill prevented Papiano from successfully purchasing the franchise in the early 1980s with Gabe Paul, a former part-owner and manager of the team. Nearly 20 years later in 2002, Papiano's second attempt at purchasing a MLB franchise was thwarted when his group to buy the Anaheim Angels from the Walt Disney Company, was outbid by Arturo Moreno.

In 2005, he made a donation to the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens in order that the zoo could build a playground for children and their families to utilize. The playground at the zoo is named after him.

As of 2006 Papiano is the campaign manager for Rocky Delgadillo in Delgadillo's quest to become California Attorney General.

[edit] Clients

Papiano represented C. Arnholt Smith in his 1974 sale of the San Diego Padres to Ray Kroc.

Papiano represented former Oakland Athletics owner Charlie Finley in a $10 million dollar restraint-of-trade lawsuit against former MLB Commissioner Bowie Kuhn and Major League Baseball. The lawsuit stemmed from Kuhn's 1976 decision to invoke the rarely-used "best interests of baseball" clause in order to void Finely's sales of Joe Rudi and Rollie Fingers to the Boston Red Sox and Vida Blue to the New York Yankees.

Papiano has represented, among others:

Ronald Wilson Reagan John Dean Michael Jackson Elizabeth Taylor Cary Grant Ed McMahon MLB Hall of Famer, Reggie Jackson Steve Garvey Charlie Finley Oakland Athletics George Steinbrenner Buzzie Bavasi Steve Allen Ricardo Montalban Walter Matthau Peggy Lee John Forsythe Ivana Trump Joan Collins Prince Ahmed Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Brooks Firestone Jess Jackson Gary Stevens Willie Shoemaker Chris McCarron Pat Valenzuela Laffit Pincay, Jr. Bob Baffert

Bobby Frankel Willie Davis Eric Douglas Mr. Blackwell Sondra Locke Otto Kerner, Jr. Richard Riordan John Ferraro Jimmy Durante Fred de Cordova Mrs. Ernest Borgnine Sophie Hawkins Beverly Johnson Petros Papadakis Susan McDougal Nederlander Organization Firestone Tire and Rubber Company American Airlines Lockheed Martin Affiliated Computer Services Dow Corning Freddie Mac Pfizer, Inc. General Mills Liberty Mutual Insurance Hollywood Park Duty-free shops U.S. Steel

Papiano gave eulogies at the funerals of former Los Angeles Mayor Thomas Bradley and famed attorney Johnnie Cochran. Papiano turned down an offer from Cochran^{[citation needed]} to be part of what would later become known as the "dream team" of legal defense lawyers for O.J. Simpson at his infamous murder trial.

Ironically, a key witness for the prosecution in Simpson's trial, Candace Garvey (the wife of Major League Baseball player Steve Garvey) would later become a client of Papiano. He is friends with prominent defense attorney Mark Geragos, with whom he has handled numerous cases over the years. He has successfully mediated numerous labor strikes with Rev. Jesse Jackson. Over the years, he has successfully tried suits against Warner Brothers, the National Enquirer, Santa Anita Park and Clint Eastwood.