Following up on Walter’s Sep. 18 roundup, Lerach should be proud of his lawyers: his plea deal is for a single count of mispaying Steven Cooperman, drops all of the Torkelsen-related charges, will likely get him out of prison in under two years, requires the government to forgo prosecution of his current law partners, and doesn’t require him to cooperate with the prosecution of Melvyn Weiss. He may well be disbarred afterwards, but he’ll also be a multimillionaire in his late sixties who can retire comfortably even after paying an $8 million fine, and nothing stops plaintiffs’ firms from offering small fortunes to Lerach to act as a “non-legal consultant.” [plea agreement; WSJ; The Recorder; NY Times]
Relatedly, Wired reprints its 1996 “Bloodsucking Scumbag” article.
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In Bill Lerach; crime and punishment; ethics; John Torkelsen; Melvyn Weiss; scandals
A little disconcerting, yes. But the judge still has to approve it. Maybe he reads this blog.
and nothing stops plaintiffs’ firms from offering small fortunes to Lerach to act as a “non-legal consultant.”
Doubtful. Both Lerach and any lawyer that attempts that will no doubt find themselves in hot water. See:
Can Disbarred Lerach Assist Other Attorneys?