Former International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn will plead not guilty to sexual assault charges and will be acquitted, his lawyer says.

In an interview with Israel's Haaretz newspaper today, Benjamin Brafman said he was confident his client would be acquitted on charges of sexually assaulting a 32-year-old maid in a New York hotel.

"He'll plead not guilty and in the end he'll be acquitted," Brafman told Haaretz during a brief visit to Israel.

"Nothing is certain, but from what I've discerned in the investigation, he will be acquitted.

"He has impressed me very much. Despite the circumstances, he's doing well. He's not happy to have been accused of actions he didn't take."

Mr Brafman is known in the US for having taken on several high-profile legal cases, including the defence of Michael Jackson and rapper Sean Combs.