Class Action Lawsuit King, William Lerach Finally Brought To Justice, Jail & Fine
Bill Lerach, one of the most influential lawyers in America, who practically terrorized America’s boardrooms for over 25 years, was sentenced to two years in jail, fined $250,000 (on top of $7.75m he had already agreed to repay), and barred forever from practicing law.
Lerach was sentenced by Los Angeles federal judge John Walter on Monday (11 February) following Lerach’s plea deal last year in a long-running investigation to alleged kickbacks at his former firm, Milberg Weiss.
Lerach will also be on supervised release for two years and must complete 1,000 hours of community service.
The judge said the lies formed the very bedrock of Milberg Weiss’ business model, allowing it to prosper and collect millions in fees over the years, all based on falsely-earned credibility. Walter said he would have imposed a stiffer sentence on his own and considered rejecting the plea arrangement because of the gravity of Lerach’s offense.
“With all of his intelligence, I cannot imagine how Lerach lost his moral compass to become a key member of the conspiracy,” Walter said.
“I pled guilty in this case because I was guilty. I knew what I was doing was wrong,” Lerach said, halting. “It was, as they say, felony stupid.”
Lerach apologised to his family, his former law firm and “to the legal system I’ve abused”. Lerach pioneered shareholder class action lawsuits.
Under law, the lead plaintiff in a class-action shareholder suit must serve as a representative of the class and cannot have a special interest or hidden inducement beyond other shareholders in the case. Lerach may be the tip of the proverbial iceberg, looking at the flood of class action lawsuits in recent years.
Filed under Class Action, Shareholder Lawsuit
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