Bill Cosby Hires a Former Lawyer for Michael Jackson

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Bill Cosby has appointed the lawyer who helped Michael Jackson win acquittal in his 2005 child molesting trial to defend him in the retrial of his criminal sexual assault case in Pennsylvania in November, Mr. Cosby’s spokesman, Andrew Wyatt, said Monday.

The Los Angeles-based lawyer, Thomas A. Mesereau Jr., was Mr. Jackson’s lead lawyer in the 14-week trial in Santa Barbara County, California, more than a decade ago. In a statement released Monday, Mr. Mesereau was listed as one of three new lawyers for Mr. Cosby.

The others are Kathleen Bliss, a Nevada attorney, and Samuel W. Silver, a Pennsylvania lawyer who has already worked with Mr. Cosby on civil matters in Pennsylvania, including a suit accusing Ms. Constand, and others, of breaching the terms of a confidential financial settlement with Mr. Cosby.

In an email, Mr. Wyatt said he would not elaborate on the selection of the new legal team. In his statement, he said the lawyers were not available for interviews.

The new lawyers replace two lawyers who are withdrawing as Mr. Cosby’s lawyers after representing him during the first trial on sexual assault charges, which ended in a mistrial in June.

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