A lawyer who worked closely with O.J. Simpson during his final years is now suing the estate of the former football player and Pro Football Hall of Famer for $1.1 million in fees he believed was owed to him before the athlete-turned-actor died in 2024.
California attorney Ronald Slates filed the suit against Malcolm LaVergne, a Las Vegas lawyer who represented Simpson at his 2007 parole hearing and serves as the executor of his estate. According to the American Bar Association, the 56-page lawsuit states Slates represented Simpson “in various matters” until he died. Per the Las Vegas Review-Journal, most of those fees went unpaid.
Simpson’s estate recently made headlines in November 2025 when it agreed to pay $58 million to Fred Goldman, father of Ron Goldman. Ron Goldman and Simpson’s ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, were found dead in 1994. O.J. Simpson was tried and acquitted of the murders in 1995, and Fred Goldman was awarded $33.5 million in a wrongful death civil lawsuit in 1997.
Goldman, however, is unlikely to receive the full amount of $58 million as the figure is more than what Simpson’s estate is actually worth. According to LaVergne, Simpson’s estate is worth $400,000 to $500,000 after dismissing a creditor claim Slates filed. LaVergne previously stated the Goldman family would not see any money from the estate.
“It won’t be $58 million plus interest, but it will be a voluntary payment. That’s the point,” LaVergne said in November 2025.
After Simpson’s death in April 2024, Goldman sought $117 million from the estate in July, citing a creditor’s claim and accrued interest.
Slates’ lawsuit comes in direct line with the estate’s frayed financials and although the estate is aware of the Goldman payment, whether it gets paid out or not, Slates believes he is still owed those unpaid fees.
A probate hearing is scheduled for later this month to address the financials and claims levied against the estate.
