Andrew Tate has added a new legal adviser to his team, the high-profile lawyer Tina Glandian, whose past clients include Chris Brown, Jussie Smollett, and Kesha.
According to the BBC, Glandian appeared alongside Tate in a Romanian court Wednesday, Feb. 1. The controversial men’s rights personality again tried to appeal his preventative custody detention, which was extended until the end of February last month. The appeal was, again, rejected.
Neither Tate, nor his co-defendants (which include his brother, Tristan, and two Romanian women) have been charged yet. They were detained in December on suspicion of human trafficking, rape, and forming an organized crime group.
Before the appeal was rejected, Glandian spoke to reporters and claimed the detention of the Tate brothers without charge for more than 30 days violated international human rights law. She also alleged there were “outside pressures” influencing the case, though did not explain what those were.
“So far the system has failed,” Glandian added.
Glandian — who did not immediately return Rolling Stone‘s request for comment — does bring a ton of experience to Tate’s legal team, especially when it comes to criminal and civil cases. She is a partner at the law firm Geragos & Geragos, which has represented numerous celebrities in various legal matters over the years.
Glandian’s most recent high-profile case was probably last year’s Jussie Smollett hate hoax trial. Glandian was part of Smollett’s defense team, though the case ended with a conviction for her client (Smollett is appealing the verdict with different legal representation). A more succesful recent endeavor was serving as MMA fighter Cain Velasquez’s co-lead counsel as he secured release on bail last November. Velasquez is facing an attempted murder charge for allegedly shooting a man named Harry Goularte, who allegedly molested Velasquez’s son.
On the Geragos & Geragos website, Glandian’s bio lists Chris Brown, Kesha, and Mike Tyson as some of her other notable clients. Glandian was involved in Kesha’s long legal battle with Dr. Luke. Though it’s not immediately clear which cases she’s worked on involving Brown, Geragos & Geragos head Mark Geragos has served as Brown’s lawyer for years, going back to his assault of then-girlfriend Rihanna in 2009.
