Joan Rivers' daughter Melissa Rivers has taken the initial step in filing a lawsuit against Yorkville Endoscopy, the clinic where Joan went into cardiac arrest during a routine throat procedure in late August.

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Melissa inked a deal to hire the prominent law firm Gair, Gair, Conason, Steigman, Maloof, Bloom and Rubinowitz to represent her in her lawsuit against the Manhattan outpatient clinic Yorkville Endoscopy, the Daily News reported.

Managing partner Ben Rubinowitz confirmed the firm's involvement with Melissa's case.

"In order to fully determine all the facts and circumstances surrounding the death of Joan Rivers, we confirm that our firm has been engaged by Melissa Rivers and her family," Rubinowitz said in a statement obtained by the website.

Rubinowitz reportedly declined to offer any elaboration on the matter.

Melissa, however, cannot follow through with the lawsuit until Joan's will is filed in court. Melissa is expected to be declared the executor of the late comedian and Fashion Police star's estate.

Joan died at the age of 81 on September 4 at Mount Sinai Hospital, which was one week after the incident at Yorkville Endoscopy occurred. The Celebrity Apprentice's second-season winner experienced a "therapeutic complication" and suffered brain damage due to a lack of oxygen, Us Weekly reported.

Joan underwent an endoscopy and had her throat checked out "for evaluation of voice changes and gastroesophageal reflux disease," according to the Daily News, who also reported she underwent an unplanned biopsy on her vocal cords performed by her private doctor Gwen Korovin at the clinic.

Joan and her daughter had starred in the reality series Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best together.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.