Nicki Minaj’s longtime lawyer, Judd Burstein, has reportedly dropped her $10 million defamation lawsuit with a fan, Tameer Peak. According to a report in US Weekly, Burstein abruptly dropped his client without providing prior notice, effectively ending his representation of her. On November 3, 2025, The Northstar Group, a business management company that had recently been hired by the rapper, wrote a letter to the court. They explained that Minaj needed more time to “retain and onboard” a new defense lawyer after Burstein’s sudden withdrawal.The Mark Hotel Met Gala 2025 - Source: GettyBurstein is a high-profile New York-based attorney known for handling complex defamation and civil litigation cases. He attended the New York University School of Law from 1978 to 1981, according to his LinkedIn profile.He has represented Minaj in several cases before. This includes a 2022 case in which a $20 million lawsuit against her was withdrawn as well as a 2024 defamation-related matter that Burstein defended.Continue to read for more details.All we know as Judd Burstein withdraws from Nicki Minaj’s defamation lawsuitIn an exclusive interview with US Weekly, Judd Burstein offered that he left Nicki Minaj in New York over a defamation case because after getting a dismissal on the previous New Jersey filing by her fan Tameer Peak, he refused to stay on. He said:“After I won a dismissal of Tameer Peak’s defamation lawsuit against Nicki in New Jersey, I declined the opportunity to represent her when Peak refiled it in New York. I believe that it would be inappropriate for me to discuss the reasons why I chose to decline the representation.”He added:“However, I want to make clear that my decision was unrelated to any concern about the merits of Peak’s claims because I have no doubt that his Complaint is entirely frivolous and that Nicki did nothing wrong. I continue to have great affection and respect for Nicki.”Burstein is the son of one of the first women Justices of the New York State Supreme Court and a labour-law-running father, as described on his official website. He graduated from Brandeis University in Massachusetts and obtained an M.A. in Philosophy. He began his career as a criminal defense lawyer working for Gerald L. Shargel and Jay Goldberg. Over the years, he has handled over 100 federal and state appeals. He served successfully as a trial counsel in litigations and arbitrations involving defamation, child custody, bankruptcy fraud, copyright law, breach of contract among others. He began representing Nicki Minaj in one of her defamation cases during the 2020s until his recent withdrawal from her case.Reportedly, Tameer Peak sued Nicki Minaj and her team accusing them of causing him emotional distress, defamation and public humiliation. As per the court documents, Peak described himself as Minaj’s “loyal fan” who had “spent tens of thousands of dollars supporting Nicki Minaj’s career and participating in fan activities.”TMZ reported that things soured between them when Nicki Minaj accused Peak and other fans of being “paid moles” working to undermine her. He called the accusation “false and defamatory” in his court filings.