The name of lawyer Buddy Meyers has come up repeatedly during testimony in the R. Kelly trial.
On Thursday, R&B singer Stephanie "Sparkle" Edwards said Meyers called her in late 2001 to tell her about the videotape that allegedly showed an underage relative of hers having sex with Kelly. Meyers sent an assistant to Edwards' residence to show her the tape, she testified.
Defense lawyers have repeatedly suggested Edwards and other family members were out to extract money or revenge — or both — from Kelly. That's why they involved Meyers, a personal injury lawyer, according to Kelly's lawyers.
The Sun-Times called Meyers for comment on Thursday, and he said he was "not directly" involved in the case. Asked to elaborate, the lawyer declined to comment further.
William Buddy Meyers specializes in "complex personal injury litigation," according to a web site for his law firm, which has offices on the 600 block of N. LaSalle St. He is also a co-owner of the Chicago Wolves hockey team, part of the American Hockey League.
In 2002, the Illinois Supreme Court suspended Meyers' law license for 60 days after he allegedly kept nearly $8,000 from a legal settlement that should have gone to a client, public filings show.
According to the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission's web site, Meyers represented a man named Sam Cross in a personal injury case. That case settled for $17,000, but instead of giving Cross everything he was owed, Meyers "used $7,754.34 of the settlement funds for his own business purposes without authority," according to the ARDC.
Meyers cooperated with the ARDC and had never been disciplined before, the agency said.
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