Who is Alan Jackson? From Phil Spector to Nick Reiner, the lawyer at the center of Hollywood’s darkest dramas
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Alan Jackson, a former Los Angeles prosecutor who has transformed into a prominent defense attorney, is now tackling one of his most challenging cases yet. He is defending Nick Reiner, the son of filmmaker Rob Reiner, who faces charges for allegedly murdering both of his parents in their upscale Brentwood residence.

The Reiner couple was discovered with fatal stab wounds in their lavish California home, located in the exclusive Brentwood neighborhood.

Having managed numerous high-profile cases throughout his career, this latest legal battle might be Jackson’s most significant. He finds himself opposing the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office, where he once held a senior position as a prosecutor.

Phil Spector, right, glares at a young prosecutor named Alan Jackson in court

In a notable moment from the past, music producer Phil Spector and lead prosecutor Alan Jackson took a break from Spector’s 2007 murder trial at the Los Angeles Superior Court, a scene captured by Gabriel Bouys for AFP/Getty Images.

Alan Jackson made headlines in 2009 when he successfully secured a conviction against Phil Spector, a renowned music producer who was found guilty of shooting actress Lana Clarkson at his opulent estate, known as the Pyrenees Castle.

Spector died in prison in 2021 at 81 years old.

Alan Jackson, deputy district attorney addresses the jury during the prosecution's rebuttal at Phil Spector trial

Alan Jackson, deputy district attorney, addresses the jury during the prosecution’s rebuttal to closing arguments in the retrial murder case of music producer Phil Spector on Wednesday, March 25, 2009, in downtown Los Angeles. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

But after leaving the DA’s office, Jackson built a reputation as an elite defense attorney on both coasts.

He is a partner at Werksman Jackson and Quinn, based in Los Angeles, but successfully represented Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey in a sex assault case and accused killer Karen Read in Massachusetts.

Alan Jackson and Kevin Spacey in court

Actor Kevin Spacey (L) attends his arraignment on sexual assault charges with his lawyer Alan Jackson at Nantucket District Court on Jan. 7, 2019, in Nantucket, Massachusetts. (Nicole Harnishfeger-Pool/Getty Images)

The charges against Spacey were dismissed in 2019, and Read was acquitted of all homicide-related charges in the death of her boyfriend, Boston cop John O’Keefe, after a weeks-long trial that ended in June.

Read’s trial, while it didn’t involve a rich and powerful Hollywood insider, captivated the country after her defense blasted a shoddy police investigation and raised claims she was framed.

She is currently fending off a wrongful death lawsuit from O’Keefe’s family while pursuing a lawsuit of her own against the group she alleges framed her.

Karen Read and her lawyer walk into court.

Karen Read and her attorney, Alan Jackson, arrive at Norfolk Superior Court for jury deliberations, Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (Richard Beetham for Fox News Digital)

Prosecutors had claimed Read backed into O’Keefe after a night out drinking and left him for dead on an acquaintance’s lawn during a blizzard. The defense argued she never hit him and something — or someone — else caused his fatal injuries.

Read was ultimately convicted only of drunken driving and sentenced to a year of probation. No one else has been charged or named a suspect in O’Keefe’s death.

Jackson returned to Los Angeles in time for the Fourth of July holiday, where he was seen cruising in a Shelby Cobra replica – powered by a 351 Stroker he described as “a fire-breathing dragon.”

Karen Read's lawyer Alan Jackson on the 4th of July.

Alan Jackson takes his Shelby Cobra replica roadster for a spin in Los Angeles, Friday, July 4, 2025.  (Fox News Digital)

In 2022, he represented the disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein at trial on rape charges in Los Angeles.

Weinstein was convicted and also convicted in a separate trial on similar charges in New York.

It was a rare loss. According to Jackson’s firm, he has a success rate of over 96% at trial and has taken more than 85 cases to jurors for verdict.

From left: Harvey Weinstein and his attorneys, Mark Werksman and Alan Jackson, in court

Former film producer Harvey Weinstein (L) and his attorney Mark Werksman (C) listen as Weinstein attorney Alan Jackson (R) speaks in court during a pre-trial hearing for Weinstein, who was extradited from New York to Los Angeles to face sex-related charges at Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center on July 29, 2021, in Los Angeles, California. (Etienne Laurent-Pool/Getty Images)

Reiner faces murder and other charges in his parents’ deaths. He is expected in court Wednesday for an arraignment, which had been held up as he awaited medical clearance to appear in court after his arrest on Sunday in Los Angeles.

“Every inmate has to be medically cleared before they can be transported to court,” Jackson told reporters Tuesday. “He has not been medically cleared. It’s just a procedural issue.”

Michele Reiner, Rob Reiner, Nick Reiner

Rob Reiner (center) and wife Michele Singer-Reiner (left) and son Nick Reiner (right) attend Teen Vogue’s Back-to-School Saturday kick-off event at The Grove on Aug. 9, 2013 in Los Angeles, California.  (Michael Buckner/Getty Images for Teen Vogue)

According to DA Nathan Hochman, the 32-year-old Nick Reiner fled his parents’ home after allegedly killing his 78-year-old father and 68-year-old mother with a knife early Sunday. Police arrested him at Exposition Park hours later. 

The younger Reiner could face life in prison without parole if convicted. Hochman’s office has not yet revealed whether prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty. 

In another ongoing case, Jackson is representing fellow Los Angeleno Fraser Bohm, a BMW-driving 24-year-old accused of four counts of murder in connection with a deadly crash that killed four Pepperdine University students on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu in October 2023.

Alan Jackson in court defending Fraser Bohm

Alan Jackson addresses the court during Fraser Bohm’s bail hearing in Los Angeles Superior Courthouse on September 5, 2025.   (Frederick M Brown for New York Post)

The victims were Niamh Rolston, 20, Peyton Stewart, 21, Asha Weir, 21, and Deslyn Williams, 21 — all seniors and members of the Alpha Phi sorority at Pepperdine.

In court in November, Jackson argued that the prosecution’s case is not enough to justify the “implied malice” murder charges under California law, which requires prosecutors to prove that the suspect intentionally committed an act that is likely to cause death and consciously disregarded the danger.

Lawyer for Rob Reiner's accuser killer, his son Nick Reiner, Alan Jackson

Attorney Alan Jackson addresses the media outside of Superior Court in Los Angeles, California, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025. Jackson is representing Nick Reiner, who is accused of murdering his parents, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer-Reiner, this week. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)

Jackson’s successful prosecution of Spector relied on the implied malice theory — alleging at trial that while he did not intend to kill Clarkson, he caused her death with reckless behavior and creating an extreme risk.

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