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Marvin Mitchelson

Colourful US lawyer who changed the rules of divorce

In the United States, litigation follows life- style, and the famous "palimony" lawsuit pursued by Marvin Mitchelson, who has died aged 76, on behalf of Michelle Triola Marvin, proved a landmark of both the sexual revolution and women's liberation. The case still resonates, not least in British courts, as it began a steady legal redefinition of the concepts of divorce and alimony.

Michelle Triola, the partner of actor Lee Marvin, originally approached Mitchelson because she had lived in an apartment complex owned by his mother. But he was already a prominent divorce lawyer, having made his reputation representing Pamela Mason against her actor husband, James. By threatening to put their friends on the witness stand, and reveal details of their personal lives, he won Pamela Mason an out-of-court settlement of $1.5m, hailed, in 1964, as the first million-dollar divorce.

The irony of the Triola case was that Mitchelson won the war, establishing the principle, but lost his client's battle. Triola had abandoned a career as a nightclub singer to live with Marvin. When they split after six years, in 1973, she hired Mitchelson to sue for half of Marvin's $3.6m income earned during their time together. The suit, filed on grounds of breach of contract, was rejected by the California court, and failed on appeal.

But, in 1976, the California supreme court ruled that cohabiting unmarried partners had a right to a share in communal property, if they could demonstrate a written or oral contract, or if judges found the couples' behaviour implied such a contract. In a 1979 retrial, the judge ruled that no such contract existed between Marvin and Triola. He awarded Triola $104,000 for "retraining" in a new career, but even that was overturned on appeal.

Triola had lost, but by that time Mitchelson was one of the best-known lawyers in the US. He attracted clients like Bianca Jagger, Zsa Zsa Gabor and Joan Collins, but specialised in non-celebrities, usually women, seeking a share of their more famous partner's assets. Among them were Sara Dylan, Barbie Benton (suing Hugh Hefner) and Anna Kashfi, whose papers against Marlon Brando he had served via helicopter.

Mitchelson was born in Detroit to immigrant parents. His Polish father was a decorator; his mother came from Ukraine. The family moved to Los Angeles when he was 18 months old. After serving as a navy corpsman, he earned a BA from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1953, and got his law degree from Southwestern University three years later.

He began practising in Beverly Hills at a time when Los Angeles was witnessing fierce competition between tabloid newspapers, and he became adept at feeding information about his cases to reporters. He also delighted in playing both ends against the middle, representing clients in libel suits against those same tabloids.

Mitchelson claimed to be proudest of his 1963 victory in Douglas v California before the US supreme court, establishing the right of indigents to legal representation. However, after the Mason case the following year, his work concentrated more and more on divorce.

He basked in the limelight and became known for his witty remarks; he defined palimony as a "commitment with no rings attached", and described the Marvin ruling as "the biggest setback for show business since John Wilkes Booth".

But his high-profile lifestyle attracted trouble. In 1988, the California bar charged him with eight separate frauds against clients, his secretary testified he was addicted to cocaine and painkillers, the Internal Revenue Service sued him for back taxes and the auctioneers Sothebys claimed he had failed to pay $1m worth of jewellery bills. On television, two former clients branded him a rapist.

In 1993, Mitchelson was convicted on four counts of tax fraud and suspended by the California bar. After a series of appeals, and treatment for skin cancer and heart disease, in 1996 he began a two-year sentence at Lompoc jail, where he ran the law library, advised prisoners on appeals and organised an opera society.

Released in 1998, Mitchelson worked as a paralegal for two years until the California bar decided to readmit him. Last year, he won a $216m settlement in a divorce suit against the Saudi royal family. He was a frequent analyst on tabloid television shows, and published two books: Made In Heaven, Settled In Court (1979) and Living Together (1981). He is survived by Marcella, his wife of 45 years, and their son.

· Marvin Morris Mitchelson, lawyer, born May 7 1928; died September 18 2004

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