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Lawyers Win Contingency Fee Fight Against Estate of Blues Icon's Son

By Stan Soocher
October 01, 2019

The legacy of blues singer/songwriter/guitarist Robert Johnson has been shrouded in mysteries, from what caused his death in 1938 at age 27 when he was still largely unknown to the public to where he is buried. And there's the legend that Johnson sold his soul to the devil at a crossroad in the Mississippi Delta in return for extraordinary musical skills.

There have also been disputes over rights to the two existing photographs of Johnson as well as over who was his rightful heir. The latest Robert Johnson-related court decision involves a contingency fee agreement originally entered into by a law firm hired by Johnson's son, who died in 2015. The case offers an example of what rights counsel may gain from such an arrangement following the death of the signatory client. Estate of Johnson v. Kitchens Law Firm P.A., 2018-CA-00260-COA.

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