Murderer Jodi Arias sues former attorney over tell-all book

Convicted killer Jodi Arias has sued her former defense attorney over his tell-all book, claiming passages are personally disparaging to her or violate the rules of ethical conduct for lawyers.

The lawsuit filed Tuesday alleges that Kirk Nurmi, who headed Arias' legal team, violated attorney-client privilege and unjustly enriched himself with his book "Trapped with Ms. Arias" before she was able to appeal her case, The Arizona Republic reported .

Arias was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison for the 2008 murder of her lover, Travis Alexander. Her 2013 trial became a media circus as details of their tawdry relationship and the violent crime scene emerged. The courtroom saga was broadcast live and spectators traveled to Phoenix to line up to get a seat in the courtroom.

Nurmi surrendered his license to practice law last November after another attorney filed a complaint with the State Bar of Arizona on Arias' behalf over the book. He said in an emailed statement that Arias tried to ruin his career and reputation when she failed at controlling the case.

"Standing up to the abuse Ms. Arias imparted upon me over the years was an important part of my personal transformation and I will continue to fight this battle with vigor as I defend against this lawsuit which is best viewed as a continuation of Ms. Arias' pattern of attacking men whom she feels have wronged her," he wrote in his statement.

"Of course, no one person has suffered at the hands of Ms. Arias (more) than Mr. Alexander and I look forward to clearing the air on all the derogatory assertions that Ms. Arias made about him as I defend against the outrageous claims made in this lawsuit," Nurmi said.

Besides the Nurmi complaint with the State Bar, attorney Karen Clark also has filed one against the prosecutor, Juan Martinez, in which she alleges Martinez fed information about the Arias trial and a holdout juror to a blogger with whom he was rumored to have a romantic entanglement. That complaint is still pending.

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Information from: The Arizona Republic, http://www.azcentral.com