Legal News

As Bill Lerach Reports to Prison . . . A Look at What Awaits

By Ashby Jones

We haven’t heard from the likes of lawyers Mel Weiss, Dickie Scruggs or Bill Lerach for some time, mostly because the drama surrounding their criminal cases has all but dwindled down to nothing. (Both Weiss and Lerach pleaded guilty to crimes related to kickback schemes; Scruggs pleaded guilty to a count related to conspiring to bribe a judge.)

But judging from a recent piece by Ross Todd of the American Lawyer, the drama is really just beginning for the trio. Today, Bill Lerach is scheduled to report to prison to begin serving his two-year sentence. (The court has approved Lerach’s request that he be housed at a minimum-security facility at Lompoc, Calif. Whether the Bureau of Prisons has approved that request is unclear — its Web site currently says he’s “in transit.”) The wheres and how longs have yet to be set for the other two — Weiss’s plea agreement suggested a sentence between 18 and 33 months, and Scruggs faces up to five years for conspiracy. Prison duty isn’t likely to be a whole lot of fun. Todd’s piece begins:

When Bill Lerach, Dickie Scruggs, and Mel Weiss check into prison, each will be handed a uniform, photographed, fingerprinted, and asked to disrobe for a mandatory cavity search. Whatever personal property they have will be taken from them and inventoried. It will either be held until their release or shipped back home. Inmates’ families often report being startled when civilian clothing lands unannounced on their doorstep a few weeks after their loved one was incarcerated.

Other former white-collar convicts have plenty of advice for Scruggs, Lerach & Weiss. Webster Hubbell, who served 16 months for bilking the Rose Law Firm out of some $450,000, says that future inmates shouldn’t expect a country club. “The stories of long ago, where there are tennis courts and swimming pools, just aren’t true,” says Hubbell. Still, Hubbell tried to make the most of the experience. According to Todd, he exercised daily and dropped nearly 100 pounds while he was in prison. “You try to get the years back on the back end,” he says.

Alan Ellis, a Bay Area lawyer who specializes in “post-conviction work” advises clients to treat prison time as a sabbatical. “You can take those two years and add five years to your life physically, mentally, and spiritually,” he says.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on May 19, 2008 (boomark / email).