Legal News

Report: Respected Miami Lawyer Indicted, To Surrender

By Ashby Jones

We have to admit we don’t know a heckuvalot about the Miami legal market, but prior to today, we’d definitely heard the name Ben Kuehne, Law Blog Bow-Tie Club member and one of a handful who repped former Veep Al Gore during the 2000 Election mess. According to a Miami Herald report, an indictment, reportedly handed up in October and to be unsealed today, has charged Kuehne for his alleged role in a complicated drug-trafficking case. Kuehne will reportedly surrender to federal authorities today.

According to the Herald, the indictment charges Kuehne with approving tainted legal payments by an accused Colombian drug kingpin to his defense attorney in Miami. The feds allege Kuehne broke the law in 2002-03 when he vouched for millions paid by one-time Medellín drug lord Fabio Ochoa Vasquez to his high-profile trial attorney, Roy Black.

Both the Justice Department and Kuehne’s Washington attorney, John W. Nields, declined to comment to the Herald before Thursday’s court appearance.

Now, just about every story concerning an indicted lawyer is likely to include a quote or two from folks vouching for the lawyer’s integrity. But several remarks about Kuehne in the Herald go beyond this, speaking to his squeaky-clean image and reputation for integrity. An attached Herald sidebar is headlined “Kuehne: Miami’s go-to lawyer.” And check out the beginning of this 2000 writeup on Kuehne: “Miami’s municipal-bond rating is improving. Mayor Joe Carollo will serve out his term in office. An eerie calm permeates the city’s tumultuous political environment. Don’t thank government leaders. Thank Miami attorney Ben Kuehne.”

Law Blog readers, We’d urge you to print out the Herald story and read it during your next conference call today. The story does a nice job of outlining the complicated scenario and charges against Kuehne. Once you have, of course, we’d love to hear what you have to say.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on February 07, 2008 (boomark / email).