Pioneering U.S. shareholder lawyer Melvyn Weiss pleaded not guilty Monday to federal charges linking him to an illegal kickback conspiracy, but another defendant in the case plans to change his plea and admit guilt on some charges, his lawyer said.
U.S. District Judge John Walter in Los Angeles also postponed the trial until August from an original start of January.
The charges against Weiss, his law firm Milberg Weiss, former client Seymour Lazar and attorney Paul Selzer stem from a long-running investigation by the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles of allegations that the New York firm, which helped pioneer shareholder class-action litigation, paid a "stable" of plaintiffs.
