Actor Thomas Gibson, who was fired Friday after starring in the long-running CBS procedural “Criminal Minds” from its first season, is “lawyering up” and may pursue legal claims against the show’s producers, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

As we reported previously, Gibson, who played Aaron Hotchner on the drama series, was fired after he allegedly kicked the writer of an episode Gibson was directing.

Now Gibson has hired a top Los Angeles law firm.

“Skip Miller, a prominent litigator with experience in entertainment industry disputes, confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that he and partner Sasha Frid have begun representing Gibson and are evaluating whether to pursue legal claims,” THR reports. Miller indicated attorneys at the Miller Barondess firm were to meet early this week with Gibson, but declined to comment further.

“Gibson, 54, was terminated by producers ABC Studios and CBS Television Studios after allegedly kicking writer-producer Virgil Williams in the shins during an on-set argument more than two weeks ago,” THR notes, adding: “A source close to Gibson describes his actions as ‘self-defense’ because Williams trains as a boxer, but other sources say Williams is known to be a non-aggressive presence on the set and is small in stature.”

Click on the link to THR near the top of this story for additional details.