Legal News

Lerach seeks to seal his sentence

By Jason Siegel

Securities plaintiff's lawyer William Lerach, who plead guilty to one count of federal conspiracy, is attempting to seal court documents related to his upcoming sentencing due to "personal and sensitive information," according to court papers filed on Tuesday.

Federal prosecutors accuse Milberg Weiss and seven of its partners, including Lerach, of obtaining $250 million in attorney fees by paying secret and illegal kickbacks to lead plaintiffs in more than 150 class action and shareholder lawsuits.

Lerach, who left Milberg Weiss in 2004, agreed to serve one to two years in prison, plus forfeit $1.75 million and pay a $250,000 fine. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 11.

But in recent court filings, Lerach stated that his sentencing papers should be sealed, in part because they are "largely devoted to a discussion of his character, life, and work as reflected in the more than 150 letters of support submitted to the Court."

Prosecutors are claiming that the public should have access to most of the sentencing papers. While "there are some items of a deeply personal nature which should be placed under seal," they argued that the "vast majority" of the information involves Lerach's professional accomplishments, charitable giving, abilities as an attorney, particular cases he has handled, legal position on the sentence and the plea agreement negotiations.

On Monday, prosecutors filed papers arguing that Lerach should go to prison for 24 months, not the 15 months recommended in a pre-sentencing report.

-- Amanda Bronstad

Full post as published by Legal Pad | LA on February 01, 2008 (boomark / email).