Who is Teny Geragos? Nepo-baby lawyer whose bold defense saved Sean 'Diddy' Combs from life in prison

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: After his arrest in September 2024, Sean "Diddy" Combs retained criminal defense attorney Teny Geragos as part of his legal team, a decision that turned out to be a life-saving one for him.

The 34-year-old heavyweight attorney scored a major victory on Wednesday, June 2, when she and the rest of Diddy’s legal team persuaded a 12-member jury not to convict the music tycoon of trafficking and racketeering, which could have gotten him a life in prison.

However, the legal team did face a minor defeat as the jury found Diddy guilty of two lesser counts related to his former girlfriends, Casandra “Cassie” Ventura and a woman who testified under the pseudonym “Jane” in court.

Diddy now only faces a maximum of 20 years behind bars. Realizing just how much the verdict meant, Diddy emotionally hugged Geragos in triumph, then lifted his hands in a silent prayer of gratitude.

The 55-year-old rapper also pumped his fists in the air before getting down on his hands and knees on the floor to pray. Rising again, he blew a kiss to his family and supporters, who replied with loud cheers.

Who is Teny Geragos?

Teny Geragos is the sharp daughter of star LA-based lawyer Mark Geragos, who carved a niche for himself after representing Susan McDougal, a former business partner of former President Bill Clinton in the 1980s, who was snared in the Whitewater scandal.

He also represented a slew of other celebrity clients, including Congressman Gary Condit, convicted killer Scott Peterson, actor Jussie Smollett, singer Kesha, and actress Winona Ryder, according to Daily Mail.

Notably, he is famously known for representing singer Chris Brown in his assault case involving pop icon Rihanna.

Teny decided to follow in her father’s legal footsteps when she joined Loyola Law School. Before going to law school, she also attended New York University, where she met her husband, Ashwinn Krishnaswamy.

The heavyweight attorney started her career by serving as a judicial extern for a Supreme Court Justice in Kings County, New York, while obtaining her law degree.

She previously interned at the Brooklyn Defender Services and worked as a judicial extern at a US district court in Los Angeles before becoming a legal intern with the Legal Aid Society in the Bronx in 2015.

As per her LinkedIn, she later went on to join New York City-based firm Brafman & Associates PC as a trial attorney. She was licensed by both the New York and California state bars in 2017.

She worked for Brafman & Associates for nearly eight years before joining Agnifilo Intrater LLP as a founding partner.

Teny Geragos’ unorthodox methods of defending Sean 'Diddy' Combs

Before representing Sean "Diddy" Combs in court, Teny Geragos caught the public eye for her unorthodox methods of defending Diddy's innocence on TikTok and primetime TV.

She published a bundle of TikTok videos defending Diddy following his infamous arrest in September 2024. She gave a befitting reply to many people who pursued civil lawsuits against Diddy, claiming that many of the plaintiffs were not real victims and were bringing claims "in the hopes of trying to get a payday."

She then took her defence to national TV, where she accused the media of pushing the wrong narrative about the "Last Night" rapper.

"There are no minors, there's no celebrity sex tapes. The civil lawsuits here are not driving the allegations that we're defending against, but it is driving the vitriol against him in the media," Teny said on an episode of '2 Angry Men', according to Fox News.

"It's incredible here what I'm witnessing," she said of the public narrative about Diddy. "A lot of allegations that have no basis in reality whatsoever."

Teny Geragos’ impassioned opening statement in Sean 'Diddy' Combs' trial

When it came to defending Diddy in court, Geragos delivered an impassioned statement, slamming prosecutors for overcharging the rapper.

“Sean Combs is a complicated man. But this is not a complicated case. This case is about love, jealousy, infidelit,y and money,' Geragos told the jury of eight men and four women. There has been a tremendous amount of noise around this case over the past year. It is time to cancel that noise,” she stated.

Geragos admitted that Combs' violent outbursts, which were frequently caused by drugs, alcohol, and jealousy, might have warranted domestic violence charges, but not trafficking and racketeering counts.

She also admitted that Diddy is extremely jealous and "has a bad temper," telling the jury that he sometimes got angry and lashed out when he drank alcohol or "did the wrong drugs." But, she said, "Domestic violence is not sex trafficking."