Husband of cinematographer killed in Baldwin shooting hires lawyer

Matt Hutchins, whose wife Halyna Hutchins was accidentally shot dead by actor Alec Baldwin on the set of the film Rust last month, has hired a Los Angeles-based law firm in connection with the shooting, a spokeswoman said.

Brian Panish of personal injury firm Panish Shea Boyle Ravipudi, who earlier this year helped secure a $2.2 billion settlement for victims of Southern California wildfires and mudslides, will be the lead attorney, said Mr Hutchins’s spokeswoman Amanda Duckworth.

Mr Panish has also represented the mother and children of pop singer Michael Jackson in a wrongful death lawsuit.

Mr Panish declined to comment. Legal experts have said Halyna Hutchins’s family could file civil lawsuits seeking financial damages for negligence after a gun Mr Baldwin was holding released a live bullet. Mr Baldwin had been told the gun was safe to use.

Mr Hutchins has been photographed embracing and talking with Mr Baldwin in the days after the shooting.

Mr Hutchins, a corporate associate at US law firm Latham & Watkins, is the latest to hire legal counsel in the wake of the October 21st shooting that also injured director Joel Souza.

Last week, Mr Baldwin and other Rust producers hired law firm Jenner & Block to investigate the shooting. Rust armourer Hannah Gutierrez has retained Jason Bowles, a former federal prosecutor based in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Mr Baldwin, who was also a producer on the film, has said he is heartbroken and is cooperating with authorities.