Todd Spodek

**Todd Spodek** is Anna's lawyer.

## History

### Bailing Anna Out and Her Arraignment

Anna contacted Todd about representing her when she was arrested for fraud. He got her out of jail and then brought her to his office, where she said it wouldn't have happened in Europe, where she's better known. He asked her why she didn't just pay her bill and she said none of her cards were working. He had her sign a form which permitted him to put a lien on her assets if she didn't pay her bill. Anna signed it and said she was still having trouble with her cards and would have to stay with him. He said no.

On the day Anna was supposed to appear in court, she told Todd she was on her way to the courthouse and he told her not to be late. She assured him she wouldn't, but Anna didn't show up to court at all, leading to Judge Kiesel issuing a bench warrant for Anna.

Todd texted Anna that the judge was angry that she missed her arraignment. Anna didn't reply. When Anna was arrested and returned to New York, Todd saw her being brought into a police precinct and informed them that she was his client.

### Anna's Bail Hearing and Deal

At the hearing to decide if Anna would get bail, Todd denied her being a flight risk and offered to surrender her passport if Judge Kiesel would set reasonable bail. Kiesel denied Anna bail, saying she had no confidence Anna would return to court if she were released. She ordered Anna remanded to Rikers Island until trial.

As he left the hearing, Vivian approached Todd and told him he'd put up a good fight. Todd recognized Vivian as a reporter and refused to comment.

Todd then took his daughter, Aggie, to the park, where he met up with Catherine McCaw, the prosecutor in Anna's case. McCaw tried to avoid him, but he persisted and tried to get her to drop the charges, saying she didn't want to prosecute the case. She questioned his ability, as a lawyer in a two-person firm, to handle a case as large as Anna's. She offered to get him a plea deal to take to Anna in order to avoid a trial.

Todd went home and told his wife, Mags, that he wasn't sure if he wanted Anna to take the deal or not. He knew it would be a good deal, as McCaw was fair, and worried that he and Alexi couldn't handle the volume of Anna's case if she didn't take the deal. Still, he felt a kinship with Anna. After McCaw offered the deal, he passed it on to Anna. Mags said that as soon as Anna took the deal or didn't, he would know which way he wanted it to go by how her decision made him feel.

Anna decided to take the deal, which Todd told Vivian. He also told Vivian that Anna told him she wasn't interested in being interviewed by Vivian because she didn't like the direction Vivian was taken. Vivian said she had no direction because she had no idea who Anna was.

Despite agreeing to take the deal, when the plea hearing came up, Anna surprised Todd by saying she wanted to be heard in court. Todd confirmed that she was rejecting the plea deal.

### Discovery

Todd was at his office when Vivian came in and asked what he and Alexi had on Talia Mallay. He refused to comment on that, but once she was gone, he asked Alexi what they had on Talia. Alexi showed him that they'd only received one box of discovery from McCaw's office, but he would check to see what they had. Todd went to McCaw's office and demanded the rest of the discovery. This backfired when McCaw sent a large truck filled with many, many boxes.

Vivian went to visit Todd, who was still working his way through the boxes. She asked to see the discovery, but he refused. She later went back to him and told him they were on the same side, both trying to help Anna. When Vivian asked to see the pitch deck, which Anna wanted her to see, Todd said no respectable lawyer would ever let a reporter see discovery, but said even the best ones sometimes slip up and leave things where a reporter might see them. He then left the room, tapping a box with his foot on the way out.

Vivian came back to Todd to talk to him about Alan Reed, the lawyer who worked to secure Anna financing to start ADF. He did hundreds of hours of work for her and she never paid him a dime. Todd suggested the possibility was strong enough to draw him in. When Vivian came back to talk to him about Anna stealing a jet, Todd said Vivian was attaching criminal intent, but Anna was just waiting for the money to come through.

When Anna called him and told him Vivian had hurt her feelings, Todd called Vivian to ask her what had happened. Vivian told him she hadn't hurt Anna's feelings and hung up. However, she later went to Todd's office and explained that she'd been having a bad day because the article that had ruined her career was the centerpiece of an upcoming episode of *American Investigated* about bad journalism. Todd knew about the show because his wife watches it. When Vivian was finished telling him the backstory of the article, Todd invited her to watch a cheap, humiliating commercial he'd made.

### Dinner with Vivian and Jack

Todd and Margaret made a date to have dinner with Vivian and her husband, Jack Mercer. When Vivian was late to the dinner, the other three were forced to make awkward conversation while they waited for her to arrive. When she finally made it, she brought footage from Anna's trip to Morocco, which they all gathered around to watch.

### Rachel's Article

When Rachel's article for Vanity Fair about her relationship with Anna came out, Todd and Vivian talked on the phone about it. Todd said the story made Anna look bad and mentioned a lot of things they didn't know about. He also said he hadn't talked to Anna about it.

### Anna's Trial

As the date of Anna's trial approached, Todd started to prepare Anna, telling her what their defense was. Anna was upset that the crux of his defense was that she was incompetent. He told her they had to do it that way. Anna asked what she would be wearing and Todd said the court would provide clothes. This upset Anna, who wanted a stylist. Todd just told her to calm down and let him do his job.

Todd began to practice his defense, while his wife gave feedback. She was tired of him working on Anna's case and was looking forward to the vacation they were taking after it was over.

On the first day of trial, things were delayed because Anna's stylist delivered the clothes to the wrong place and she refused to wear the clothes the court provided, meaning she couldn't appear in court. Todd went to Anna and told her to get dressed, but she refused, saying she didn't like the court's clothes. He told her she legally couldn't wear her jumpsuit.

Todd then went to Vivian and Neff and explained what Anna was saying. Vivian suggested that Todd go buy something, but Todd begged Vivian to do it for him. She tried to say no, but agreed to do it in exchange for all his discovery on the case. When Vivian came back with the clothes, Todd took them to Anna and got her to court.

Todd and McCaw gave their opening arguments and then they started calling witnesses to testify.

The night before Rachel was set to be cross-examined, Todd had Alexi translate while he called Anna's father. He asked Vadim to come to the trial, but Vadim refused.

The next day, Anna again refused to get dressed because she said the clothes were dirty. They argued and she fired him. He told her his reputation was also on the line and it looked bad for him because he couldn't get her to court on time. She said that her father would get her a better lawyer, but he told her her father wasn't coming. Todd said he would expose Rachel and defend Anna. She told him she'd rather go to jail than come across as a wannabe amateur. He promised to defend her work.

Todd cross-examined Rachel, asking about the many ways she was profiting off her relationship with Anna. At the end, Rachel said she wished she'd never met Anna.

That night, Todd went out for drinks with Vivian. He told her he couldn't use his best argument because he promised Anna he wouldn't. Vivian told him to do whatever it took.

At home, Todd fought with Margaret, who was worried he would miss their family vacation, which had been planned for months. He told her he couldn't abandon Anna. She told him it would be easier if he were sleeping with Anna as it would make sense then.

Finally, Todd gave his closing argument, which went against his promise to Anna. When he sat back down afterward, he told her he had to do it. While the jury deliberated, Todd waited with Vivian and they talked about how she could get fifteen years if she were convicted on all counts. When the jury returned, Anna was convicted on all but two counts. Todd told Anna they won two of the three big ones, including the charge relating to Rachel.

Todd tried to leave after this to go on his vacation with his family, but before he got away from the courthouse, he told Margaret he couldn't leave and would try to join them as soon as he could. He went back to Anna and asked how she was feeling. She said he had betrayed her, but he said he had to do it and it worked. He beat two of the three biggest charges. He then said he'd call Anna's dad and let him know.

After sentencing, Todd met with Vivian. Anna would serve four to twelve years. Todd said that Anna got more time while Vivian got more clicks. Vivian turned it around on him and pointed out that defending Anna was bringing him more clients. She told him to go to the airport and be with his family. Todd told Vivian that Anna was going to Bedford Hills.

## Relationships

### Romantic

He is married to Margaret Vanderburn-Porter. Together, they have two children: Brian and Aggie.

### Familial

He parked cars to help his mom pay the rent when he was young.

## Career

He is a defense attorney at Spodek and Associates.

## Notes and Trivia

* Netflix Bio: A fast-talking family man with working class-roots. Given the high-profile nature of the case and his need to earn the respect of his legal peers, Todd needs Anna just as much as she needs him.
* He once defended someone who stalked Alec Baldwin.

## Gallery

### Episodic

* Life of a VIP
* The Devil Wore Anna
* Two Birds, One Throne
* A Wolf in Chic Clothing
* Check Out Time
* Friends in Low Places
* Cash on Delivery
* Too Rich for Her Blood
* Dangerously Close
1/9

## Appearances

 **#02** | "The Devil Wore Anna"
 **#03** | "Two Birds, One Throne"

## References

1. ↑ Cash on Delivery
2. ↑ Too Rich for Her Blood
3. ↑ Life of a VIP
4. ↑ The Devil Wore Anna
5. ↑ Two Birds, One Throne
6. ↑ A Wolf in Chic Clothing
7. ↑ Check Out Time
8. ↑ Friends in Low Places
9. ↑ Cash on Delivery
10. ↑ Dangerously Close
11. ↑ Life of a VIP
12. ↑ Cash on Delivery