LISA Marie Presley’s ex Michael Lockwood has hired a super lawyer who spent years representing the Church of Scientology before severing ties, The Sun can exclusively reveal.
Elvis’ only daughter, who lost her son Benjamin to suicide three weeks ago after he shot himself in the head, came face-to-face with her ex on Monday amid a custody war for their twin daughters, Harper and Finley, 11.
The former couple, who split in 2016 after 10 years of marriage, appeared during a private court hearing in downtown LA and sources say Michael, 59, is desperate to end their feud for the sake of their children.
An insider told The Sun exclusively Michael has hired Joseph Yanny, partner of LA-based Yanny & Smith, after weeks without representation due to lack of earnings amid the pandemic.
They said: “Michael’s world has been turned upside down over the past four years and he has also been left devastated by Benjamin’s death, he was his stepfather for more than a decade.
“He feels for the entire family, and he just wants what is best for the girls during this traumatic time, everyone wants this to be over so they can move on and grieve in peace.
“Michael has now hired Joseph who is an absolute powerhouse and went against the Church, which will be mentioned a lot throughout the trial after Lisa’s previous alleged involvement.”
The 52-year-old singer attended court dressed in a black suit, dark shades and a black mask, accompanied by a well-built bodyguard and her own lawyer, Gary Fishbein.
Michael was seen arriving in a blue suit, purple shirt and tie, with a black mask and pork-pie hat, while clutching a folder of documents, as he was photographed entering the Stanley Mosk Courthouse.
Attorney Yanny represented Scientology from 1983 to 1987, earning a major victory in a suit brought against a former top exec accused of conspiring to steal the religion’s secret teachings, according to the LA Times.
But he then cut ties as he reportedly disagreed with the tactics used against its critics, while the Church claimed he was dismissed because his performance was “inadequate.”
Months of complex litigation followed, with private investigators allegedly keeping tabs on Yanny as Scientologists sued him for what they claimed were “inflated bills.” He was later awarded $154,000 in damages.
According to reports, Yanny has represented a number of other high profile clients including the rock band the Grateful Dead and Bob Dylan, in a dispute over the use of the star’s name by Apple.
Michael, who previously revealed the mounting costs of “hyper-litigation” left him more than $70,000 in debt, had been unable to afford a lawyer amid the ongoing pandemic.
The Sun can confirm Presley is not paying for his representation, despite a previous plea for financial help, and the trial is expected to drag out for a number of days.
In court documents filed last week, Michael blamed the Church’s alleged “fair-gaming technique” for the drawn out custody battle after previously being accused of possessing images of child pornography.
He was never charged in connection to her claims and strenuously denied any wrongdoing.
Michael, who is asking for primary custody, has also expressed concerns about his ex relapsing into drugs and alcohol, along with guns at the family’s $1.8million residence in Calabasas after Ben’s tragic death.
“Lisa Marie Presley’s son shot and killed himself in her home (Although she was not there at the time),” he wrote in papers filed last week.
He further alleged: “With all due sympathy and respect, this creates a new and unaddressed twofold problem: the safety of the children and the greater likelihood of [Presley] to relapse into drug and alcohol dependency.
‘Thus, there is a significantly higher risk to the safety of the children which would ordinarily justify 100 percent physical custody (to me) at this time in such circumstances.”
“The children told (me) that (LMP) walked around the house with a gun in her hand in 2017. There was at least one gun on the premises of her home at the time of her son’s suicide and it is unclear where the gun was kept or whether Finley and/or Harper might have access to this gun or others,” he alleged in court papers.
The Sun has reached out to Michael’s lawyer Joseph Yanny who was unavailable for comment.
