A recent AP story, “Spector, Shapiro Settle $1M Legal Fee Dispute” reports that imprisoned music producer Phil Spector has settled his lawsuit against attorney Robert Shapiro over a $1 million retainer fee.  Spector settled a suit demanding that Shapiro return the $1 million retainer, just three days before the matter was to go to trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court.  Lawyers said they could not reveal the terms of the agreement, which came during a last ditch settlement conference with Judge Peter Lichtman.

Spector hired Shapiro, famous for his defense of O.J. Simpson, within days of his arrest, but fired him less than a year later because, according to the suit, the lawyer wasn’t spending enough time on his case.  For settlement negotiations, Spector gave another high-profile defense attorney, Leslie Abramson, power of attorney to approve the deal.