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To: ravenseye who wrote (3171)	2/5/2008 8:10:32 AM
From: rrufff	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 5034

Ex-Client Sentenced in Law Firm Case Tuesday January 29, 1:38 pm ET By BLOOMBERG NEWS biz.yahoo.com A former client of the securities law firm Milberg Weiss was sentenced to six months’ home detention and a $600,000 fine for lying under oath about secret payments that he received in exchange for serving as lead plaintiff in investor lawsuits. The client, Seymour M. Lazar, 80, had already paid $1.5 million in forfeiture as part of a plea agreement. Judge John F. Walter of Federal District Court, at a hearing Monday in Los Angeles, denied Mr. Lazar’s request to sentence him to the time he served in home confinement. The government agreed not to ask for a prison sentence because of Mr. Lazar’s age and poor health. Mr. Lazar, charged in June 2005, was one of the first two defendants indicted in the eight-year investigation of the firm, which is based in New York. Prosecutors accused the firm of illegally and secretly paying clients to file securities-fraud cases that brought in more than $251 million in lawyer fees. Three former Milberg partners and two other former clients have also pleaded guilty. “The nature and circumstances of the offense greatly trouble me,” Judge Walter said at the sentencing hearing. Mr. Lazar demonstrated “absolute arrogance” by making false declarations to the courts about his arrangements with Milberg Weiss, Judge Walter said. “I understand what you’re saying,” Mr. Lazar told the judge. ”And you’re right.” biz.yahoo.com

To: ravenseye who wrote (3171)	2/11/2008 3:14:37 PM
From: ravenseye	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 5034

blogs.wsj.com February 11, 2008, 2:35 pm Breaking News: Bill Lerach Gets Two Years in Prison Posted by Ashby Jones This just in: Famed plaintiffs lawyer Bill Lerach received a two-year sentence today for his role in the alleged kickback scheme at Milberg Weiss. Lerach pleaded guilty last fall to a felony count of conspiring to obstruct justice and to submit false testimony in federal judicial proceedings. We’ll update with a story when one becomes available. To recap, prosecutors have claimed that Milberg shared legal fees with clients to induce them to quickly file securities class actions. Lerach has acknowledged making secret payments to former client Steven Cooperman. For an overview of the case and its players, click here. Other indicted lawyers must still await their fate. Former Milberg partners David Bershad and Steven Schulman, who have pleaded guilty and are cooperating with the government, have yet to be sentenced. Melvyn Weiss, one of Milberg’s founders, has pleaded not guilty, as has the Milberg Weiss law firm. They have vowed to fight the charges. Prosecutors had sought a a two-year prison term, but in a filing made Friday Lerach asked for six months in prison and six months of home confinement. Law Blog readers, what do you think of the sentence? Too light? Too harsh? Perfecto? Permalink \| Trackback URL: blogs.wsj.com