In any given week, teams of high-priced lawyers fan out across the country to defend Bill Cosby amid a cascade of sexual assault allegations, defamation claims and insurance disputes.
The TV star is spending millions in a frenzied bid not just to stay out of prison but to salvage what is left of his reputation. Legal experts say he has nothing to lose.
"This thing's going to be tied up in litigation anyway, so you might as well look like you're the aggrieved party," said Professor Laurie Levenson of Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. "The best defense is a good offense."
The biggest threat facing the comedian is the lone criminal case against him, involving allegations he drugged and sexually violated Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home more than a decade ago. Cosby, 78, could get 10 years in prison if convicted.
Unless he can convince the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that a previous district attorney made a binding promise that Cosby would never be prosecuted, the comic and his cadre of high-priced litigators will be back in court Tuesday for his long-delayed preliminary hearing.
Cosby also is contending with two sexual assault lawsuits, two disputes over whether his homeowner policies should cover his legal expenses, and a dozen defamation claims brought by women who came forward too late to sue over sexual assault but say they were smeared by Cosby or his representatives.
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