William Lerach

William Shannon Lerach (Bill Lerach) (b. 1946, Ohio River Valley,cite web |url= http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/1999/11/15/MN18SIL.DTL&hw=reynolds+dark+silicon+valley&sn=004&sc=768 |title= Phantom Riches |author= Reynolds Holding, William Carlsen, "et al" |work= San Francisco Chronicle |date= 15 November 1999 |quote= ] Midwestern United States) is an American lawyer who specialized in class action lawsuits. He earned his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Pittsburgh. He has been a major financial donor to Democratic Party organizations at the state and national level. [Citation
last=Elkind | first=Peter
title=The King of Pain Is Hurting
magazine= Fortune
volume= | issue=
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year=2000 | date= 2000-09-04
url=http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2000/09/04/286801/index.htm] cite web |url= http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20070919-9999-1b19lerach.html |title= Prison sentence part of lawyer's plea deal |author= Bruce V. Bigelow |work= The San Diego Union-Tribune |date= 19 September 2007 |quote= Lerach also was a prominent friend to former President Bill Clinton and was an influential fundraiser for the Democratic Party. He contributed $1.28 million to federal campaigns since 1993 and has been a strong supporter of Democratic candidates for governor and other state offices. ] In 1993, Lerach bragged to Forbes magazine that "I have the greatest practice of law in the world, I have no clients."cite web |url= http://www.examiner.com/assets/national/promo/ilep/story6.html |title= Bill Lerach: A Robin Hood who lined his own pockets |author= Mark Tapscott |work= The Washington Examiner |quote= Following guilty pleadings by Berschad and Schulman, Lerach pleaded guilty in September 2007 to felony charges of conspiracy to obstruct justice and making false statements to federal judges. He agreed to make nearly $8 million in restitution to the government. He was sentenced Feb. 11 to a two-year federal prison term. ]

Lerach, formerly a partner in the indicted law firm Milberg Weiss,cite web |url= http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1124109328500 |title= Lerach Hunkers Down After Indictment |author= Justin Scheck |work= The National Law Journal |date= 16 August 2005 |quote= ] cite web |url= http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2006/11/13/8393127/?postversion=2006103111 |title= 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 |work= Fortune |date= November 3 2006 |author= Peter Elkind |quote= …Milberg Weiss and the two outsized personalities who ruled the place, Mel Weiss and Bill Lerach… 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. ] cite web |url= http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1180602335087 |title= Milberg Partners Talk Pleas With Prosecutors |author= Justin Scheck |work= The National Law Journal |date= 1 June 2007 |quote= When the probe began in 1999, it was focused on Lerach. ] left that firm in 2004 to form the San Diego, California based firm, Lerach Coughlin Stoia & Robbins LLP. After a merger with Geller Rudman LLP, the firm became Lerach Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP. [http://www.lerachlaw.com/lcsr-cgi-bin/mil?att=upload.175&templ=firm/bio.html Lerach Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins] LLP website. Note: the Lerach bio has been removed from the law firm website. As of the end of August 2007, the firm is known as Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins.]

According to a June 2007 statement in which he alluded to the ongoing Milberg Weiss investigation,cite web |url= http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/01/business/01law.html?em&ex=1180843200&en=b8d5b145bd39264e&ei=5087%0A |title= Top Lawyer, Under Fire, May Depart |author= Julie Creswell |work= The New York Times |date= 1 June 2007 ] cite web |url= http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lerach1jun01,1,1043937.story?coll=la-headlines-business&ctrack=1&cset=true |title= Class-action lawyer could face charges |author= Molly Selvin |work= Los Angeles Times |date= 1 June 2007 ] cite web |url= http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/2007-07-09-milberg-partner_N.htm |title= Plea may aid case against law partners |author= Greg Farrell |work= USA TODAY |date= 9 July 2007 |quote= Bershad's admission of guilt is expected to help prosecutors build criminal cases against the two most prominent plaintiffs' attorneys associated with the firm, Melvyn Weiss and Bill Lerach. According to prosecutors, Milberg Weiss violated rules by paying off a small group of individuals who served as "lead plaintiffs" in many of the firm's cases. Two of those serial plaintiffs have acknowledged that they participated in the kickback scheme, according to court documents. ] Lerach was considering retirement. As of 31 August, 2007,cite web |url= http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/29/business/29legal.html?ref=business |title= Lawyer Quits Firm to Focus on Inquiry |author= Jenny Anderson |work= The New York Times |date= 29 August 2007 |quote= Rumors that Mr. Lerach would leave had been swirling for months amid speculation that he would resign in exchange for the firm’s not being indicted… According to the indictment, in the early stages of the scheme, which lasted from the 1970s through 2005, Milberg Weiss partners provided cash to pay the kickbacks since it is illegal for a plaintiff to receive any portion of the legal fees, which could be viewed as an incentive to settle rather than act in the best interest of the class. The firm would later award those partners bonus payments equal to the amounts they had paid in. ] cite web |url= http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/28/AR2007082801636.html?hpid=moreheadlines |title= Lerach to Leave Law Firm As He Tries to End Probe |author= Carrie Johnson |work= The Washington Post |date= 29 August 2007 |quote= ] cite web |url= http://www.laobserved.com/biz/2007/08/snag_in_lerach_plea.php |title= Snag in Lerach plea deal |author= Mark Lachter |work= LA Biz Observed |date= 31 August 2007 |quote= Several defense attorneys said they did not know which charges Lerach would plead to or other details of the proposed plea deal, except that it likely includes a monetary penalty and prison time. A few lawyers familiar with the situation said Lerach told close friends that he does not believe he's done anything wrong. Nevertheless, they said, he's resigned himself to serving a year or more in prison and has directed his attorneys to negotiate such terms with prosecutors. ] Lerach is no longer a member of the San Diego firm, which is now known as Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP. [http://www.csgrr.com/ Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins] LLP website.]

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 because of his involvement in a kickback scheme.cite web |url= http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-tue_lawyerfeb12,0,7616067.story |title= Lawyer William Lerach sentenced to 2 years in class-action kickback scheme |author= Associated Press |work= Chicago Tribune |date= February 12 2008 |quote= I pleaded guilty in this case because I was guilty," Lerach said before sentencing. "It was, as they say, felony stupid. ] He pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice and make false declarations under oath. [Mr. Lerach pled guilty to a one count criminal information. http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/business/19legal_pleaagreement.pdf] His license to practice law had been suspended in December, with disbarment expected.cite web |url= http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/11/AR2008021101454.html?hpid=sec-business |title= Lerach Gets Two Years In Prison for Kickbacks |author= Carrie Johnson |work= The Washington Post |date= February 12 2008 |quote= In late December, authorities suspended Lerach's license to practice law, and legal experts said he is almost certain to be disbarred. ]

Lerach's former Milberg Weiss partner Melvyn Weiss was similarly sentenced in early June 2008.cite web |url= http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aGqfpC4ZjoAw&refer=home |title= Weiss Sentenced to 2 1/2 Years for Kickback Scheme (Update1) |author= Edvard Pettersson |work= Bloomberg L.P. |date= June 2 2008 |quote= 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. ... Lerach is serving a two-year prison term after pleading guilty to conspiracy last year. Weiss faced as much as 40 years in prison if convicted at trial. ]

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