Milberg Weiss

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Founded in 1965 by attorneys Larry Milberg and Melvyn I. Weiss, Milberg LLP (formerly known Milberg Weiss LLP and Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman LLP) is a U.S. plaintiffs' law firm. Based in New York City, it is widely known for representing investors in securities class actions. Before its split in May 2004, it was the largest plaintiff law firm in the United States, with over 200 attorneys and a leader in its field, responsible, at least in part, for over 50 percent of all securities class action cases settled in 2002.[1]

Milberg Weiss is currently embroiled in a criminal investigation. On May 18, 2006,[2][3] the firm and two of its named partners, David J. Bershad and Steven G. Schulman (Schulman resigned in December 2006), were indicted by United States Attorney Debra Wong Yang of the United States District Court for the Central District of California on various counts, including racketeering, mail fraud, and bribery. The charges include claims that Milberg Weiss paid portions of its legal fees to plaintiffs in order to induce them to sue.[4][5] By January 2007, more than half of the firm's partners had left the firm. As of March 2008, the firm's website lists only 55 full-time attorneys (30 partners and 25 associates).

Four longtime Milberg Weiss partners have pled guilty to federal charges, including Steven Schulman, David Bershad, William Lerach, and Melvyn Weiss. On March 20, 2008, Melvyn Weiss announced through his attorney that he would plead guilty in exchange for an 18 to 33 month prison sentence and fines and restitution of $10 million. [6] On Monday February 11, 2008, Lerach was sentenced to two years in federal prison, two years' probation, fined $250,000 and ordered to complete 1,000 hours of community service. Bershad will pay $250,000 in fines and forfeit $7.75 million. Bershad's sentencing hearing, at which the Court will decide if he will also be incarcerated, is set for June 2008.[7] As of March 25, 2008, the firm itself still remains a defendant and faces heavy fines if found guilty.

Mel Weiss was sentenced on Monday June 2, 2008.[8]

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[edit] References

  1. ^ 1995-2003 Securities Settlements Review (pdf)
  2. ^ Milberg Weiss Is Charged With Bribery and Fraud, Julie Creswell, The New York Times, May 18, 2006.
  3. ^ U. S. Department of Justice press release.
  4. ^ Peter Elkind. "The fall of America's meanest law firm: Milberg Weiss, the lawsuit factory that took corporations for $45 billion, is in the feds' cross hairs.", Fortune, November 3, 2006. "…Milberg Weiss and the two outsized personalities who ruled the place, Mel Weiss and Bill Lerach… has been indicted for allegedly paying three plaintiffs $11.4 million in illegal kickbacks in about 180 cases spanning 25 years - and then repeatedly lying about it to the courts." 
  5. ^ "Class-action lawsuits", The Economist, June 30, 2005. 
  6. ^ Martha Graybow. "US shareholder lawyer Melvyn Weiss to plead guilty", Reuters, March 21, 2008. 
  7. ^ Dawn Kawamoto. "One of the lawyers Silicon Valley loves to hate", CNET News.com, July 9, 2007. 
  8. ^ Edvard Pettersson (June 2, 2008). Weiss Sentenced to 2 1/2 Years for Kickback Scheme (Update1). Bloomberg L.P.. “Weiss, 72, must also forfeit $9.75 million and pay a fine of $250,000. He pleaded guilty April 2 to racketeering conspiracy, admitting he helped secretly pay a stable of plaintiffs to file suits from 1979 through 2005. By using them to sue first, the firm was more likely to lead cases and reap larger fees.”