Keanu Lifts Lindsay's Legal Team

Reeves hires Lohan's successful defense team to cover his negligence suit against paparazzo

Keanu Reeves is going where Lindsay Lohan's gone before to get out of some car trouble.

Reeves has hired the law firm of La Follette, Johnson, De Haas, Fesler & Ames, the same legal eagles who successfully defended Lohan in her infamous 2005 busboy smashup, to represent him against a paparazzo who claims he was dinged by the Matrix star's ride more than a year ago.

Reeves' previous lead lawyer, Jeffrey Redd, bailed on the case last week. The Lohan-approved team had signed on last month to assist Redd in the case, but now will run point.

The new attorneys will make their debut Monday, when both sides are due in court for the first hearing in the case. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elizabeth A. Grimes is slated to rule on Team Keanu's motion to strike the photographer's punitive damages claim.

Photog Alison Silva filed the suit last November, initially alleging negligence; he later amended his complaint, adding allegations of assault and battery against Reeves.

The suit stems from an incident that took place in Rancho Palos Verdes in March 2007, when, Silva claims, he was snapping away at Reeves when the actor got behind the wheel of a 1996 Porsche 911 Cabrio. Per Silva, Reeves covered his face and erratically pulled away from the curb, hitting and injuring the shutterbug in the process.

Silva, who has another pending lawsuit against a rival photo agency, claims the injuries he sustained have diminished his earning power.

Prior to his departure from the case, Redd disputed Silva's take, claiming it was the photographer who was to blame for the incident due to his inherently risky pursuit of the star.