The doctor who was reportedly with Michael Jackson when he suffered cardiac arrest at his rented Los Angeles home has hired a Houston law firm to represent him, a partner at the firm said Saturday.
William Stradley, a partner at Stradley, Chernoff & Alford, said Dr. Conrad Murray has hired his firm, but investigators have told him that Murray is only considered a witness in the case.
According to Stradley, Edward Chernoff, another partner in the firm, is in Los Angeles meeting with investigators.
Meanwhile, relatives of Jackson, including his sister Janet Jackson, have gathered at his Los Angeles home to plan his funeral and care for his three children.
Janet Jackson arrived at the Holmby Hills estate Saturday in a white Bentley. Her older brother Tito Jackson told the celebrity news website TMZ that a family meeting was underway.
At the same time, about eight movers began carrying packing equipment into the estate, but it's unclear what was being transported.
A person close to the family who talked to The Associated Press said Jackson's relatives are also trying to determine what happened to the singer in the days leading up to his death.
In particular, Jackson's family wants to know more about the singer's interactions with AEG, the concert promoter that was behind the 50 upcoming concerts he was due to perform at London's O2 Arena.
The family believes that several advisers and representatives who were spending time with Jackson were put in place by AEG.
The president of AEG Live has said Murray was hired at the request of the singer.
"As a company, we would have preferred not having a physician on staff full-time because it would have been cheaper without the hotels and travel, but Michael was insistent that he be hired," Randy Phillips said Friday. "Michael had a rapport with him."
Records reveal that Jackson's doctor had been ordered to pay $400,000 as a result of court judgments over the years and he currently faces at least two other pending court cases and several tax liens.
Police have seized the doctor's car in search of evidence, but say Murray is not considered a criminal suspect.
On Saturday, spiritual teacher and medical doctor Deepak Chopra said that he spoke to Jackson six months ago about suspicions the pop star was abusing painkillers, which may have played a role in his death.
According to Chopra, Jackson asked him for painkillers in 2005 when he was staying with him after his trial on sexual abuse charges -- a request that he refused.
Over the next four years, Chopra said, the nanny for Jackson's children called him a number of times with concerns about Jackson's drug use and to report that numerous doctors were visiting the singer's homes in Miami, New York, Los Angeles and Santa Barbara County.
Business affairs
Jackson's family is also very concerned about the singer's estate, as they are not sure who has been handling his business affairs, according to the person who spoke with The Associated Press.
"There are decisions going down without the family being in the loop; it's becoming an issue," the person said.
Without a will in place, the handling of Jackson's estate could be very complicated as the singer was a reported US$400 million in debt at the time of his death.
While none of Jackson's family members were present when he died, he was not estranged from his relatives, the person close to the family said.
The singer's children are now being cared for by his family in Encino.
Jackson's body was released to his family late Friday night. The Los Angeles County coroner's office completed Jackson's autopsy that same day, concluding that there were no signs of foul play or trauma in the singer's death.
More tests are needed, however, to determine Jackson's cause of death.
Civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson said Saturday that the family wants an independent autopsy because of the many questions still surrounding the circumstances of the singer's death.
With files from The Associated Press
