New R. Kelly Lawyer Specializes In Plea Negotiations

R Kelly

A veteran defense attorney who specializes in plea negotiations has quietly joined R. Kelly’s federal case in Chicago as the embattled singer faces a 13-count indictment alleging he sexually abused underage girls.

Attorney Jeffrey Steinback, who filed an appearance in the case over the weekend, told the Chicago Tribune on Monday he was asked to lend his "expertise” on how to deal with the high-profile charges against Kelly, not necessarily to resolve the case short of trial.

“I was brought in as another set of eyes,” Steinback said in a telephone interview. He said he’s since met with the singer several times at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in the Loop — where Kelly has been held without bond since July — to get a sense of “who he is and how I may be of assistance.”

Steinback’s emergence in the case is sure to raise eyebrows due to his reputation as a deal-maker whose experience and connections with the U.S. attorney’s office have helped him negotiate drastically reduced prison sentences for clients.

Any deal with prosecutors in Kelly’s case would be particularly thorny to execute since the R&B star is also facing a racketeering indictment in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn as well as separate charges brought in Cook County in February alleging the sexual abuse of four victims.

If convicted in all three cases, Kelly, 52, could potentially face the rest of his life in prison. Kelly is expected back in county court in December.