Young Thug’s YSL trial lawyer Brian Steel has reportedly submitted paperwork to join rapper Lil Durk’s legal team. Durk has been in jail since his arrest on murder-for-hire charges in October 2024.
According to court documents seen by Complex dated March 8, renowned attorney Brian Steel is joining Lil Durk’s legal team ahead of his trial for murder-for-hire charges. Steel has submitted paperwork to replace one of Durk’s lawyers, Jonathan M. Brayman.
Steel famously represented rapper Young Thug in his YSL Rico trial, which ended in October 2024 with the release of Thug after he was behind bars for over two years. The attorney played an important role in bringing Thug’s verdict, with rappers like Drake paying him respect by mentioning him in a track in his collaborative album with PartyNextDoor, $$$4U.
It remains to be seen if Brian Steel can bring a similar impact in the case of Lil Durk. The rapper’s trial was postponed by Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald after Durk’s co-defendants requested to be tried separately from him. Fitzgerald denied the request and mentioned that the joint trial will begin on August 20, 2026.
For context, Durk was accused of being involved in a murder-for-hire plot for Quando Rondo. However, the alleged plot led to the death of his cousin, Saviay’a Lul Pab Robinson, who was shot dead in 2022. Durk has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Lil Durk’s murder-for-hire charges explored ahead of August trial
Lil Durk was arrested by federal agents in South Florida over murder-for-hire charges. Alongside the rapper, five members of his group, Only The Family (OTF) were also arrested for the same charges and the illegal possession of firearms.
Reports claim that the alleged murder-for-hire plot was originally targeted at rapper Quando Rondo in August 2022. However, it led to the death of his cousin, Saviay’a Robinson instead. During the incident, Quando Rondo was with Robinson and his sister at a gas station in Beverly Groves. Their car was allegedly attacked with gunshots, and Robinson was shot multiple times.
Rondo’s murder plot was allegedly planned as revenge for the death of King Von, who was an ally of Lil Durk. Von was shot dead in a hookah bar in Atlanta alongside two other acquaintances in November 2020. It is alleged that he was killed by one of Rondo’s associates, leading to the reported murder-for-hire plot.
Last month, Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald permitted the use of some selected lyrics from Lil Durk’s songs and screenshots from his music videos to be submitted as evidence during the rapper’s upcoming trial. The trial was originally supposed to begin in April, but has now been postponed to August.
The decision came after Durk’s lawyer, Drew Findling, requested that the judge not allow the use of the rapper’s lyrics and music videos as evidence in court. However, the prosecutors consider such evidence relevant to the case and Durk’s alleged association with the death of Rondo’s cousin.
The judge eventually allowed the use of four of the thirteen submitted lyrics and denied five others. The other four would also be allowed “if the Government can adequately explain their probative value in the context of how they will be presented and admitted at trial.”
Some of Durk’s statements in an interview with DJ Akademiks and comments on his X account are also permitted to be used in court. This evidence is reportedly set to prove that Durk was pressurized to avenge King Von’s death.
Lil Durk’s trial is set to begin on August 20, 2026, as of this writing.
Edited by Pratyasha Sarkar
