Jackson sues former lawyers

Pop star Michael Jackson is suing Los Angeles law firm Ayscough & Marar, accusing attorneys of trying to force him into bankruptcy.

In papers filed on August 29, but unseen until now, Jackson accuses his former attorneys of conspiring with other lawyers, who represented him in the past, to put him into involuntary bankruptcy.

According to Fox News, Jackson also claims that Brent Aysough - the attorney who unsuccessfully represented him in a lawsuit brought by former business partner Marc Schaffel - threatened to expose confidential information about him to the press, violated rules of professional conduct and committed both negligence and malpractice.

Ayscough sued Jackson in July for $216,000 (€207,300) he claims he is owed in unpaid fees.

Jackson is also currently embroiled in a $48m (€38.7m) lawsuit brought by Darien Dash, the cousin of hip-hop mogul Damon Dash.

Dash claims he has Jackson's signature on a document promising to pay him a 9% fee for securing financing for a $275m (€219.3m) loan in 2004 held by Fortress Investments.