Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes Lerach

A second lawyer pleaded not guilty to money-laundering charges in an investigation of payments law firm Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach made to a plaintiff in class-action lawsuits. Paul T. Selzer, 64, entered the plea in federal court in Los Angeles. He is accused of helping to funnel illegal payments to Seymour Lazar, a retired lawyer now charged with receiving $2.4 million from Milberg Weiss. Lazar pleaded not guilty in June.

Two Republican lawmakers demanded Friday that Congress hold a hearing on a scandal involving plaintiffs' lawyers who admitted paying kickbacks to clients in corporate fraud lawsuits. A long-running federal probe has led to the guilty pleas of attorneys Melvyn I. Weiss and William S. Lerach and other former lawyers at law firm Milberg LLP. Weiss and Lerach were known for bringing shareholder lawsuits against large corporations, drawing scorn from pro-business advocates who said the cases were frivolous and a big distraction to companies.

San Diego's Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach, which split into two law firms this week, settled securities fraud cases worth $2.1 billion in 2003, the most among firms that represent investors, according to a list released Tuesday by Institutional Shareholder Services. Milberg Weiss surpassed New York's Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossman, which had $950 million in settlements in 2003, and Grant & Eisenhofer in Wilmington, Del., which had $611 million.

William S. Lerach, the securities lawyer whose multibillion-dollar recoveries on behalf of aggrieved shareholders made him a lightning rod, pleaded guilty Monday to a criminal charge that could send him to prison for up to two years. Lerach, 61, entered the plea to one count of conspiracy as part of a deal with federal prosecutors, admitting to obstructing justice and making false statements in connection with a scheme to bribe people to be plaintiffs in class-action lawsuits.

Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach, a prominent law firm specializing in shareholder suits against publicly traded companies, split into two firms, the principals said Monday. The move also divided the law firm's two best-known partners -- Melvyn Weiss and William Lerach -- after they had worked together for more than two decades, winning billions of dollars in recoveries from lawsuits. Word that the firm would be broken up surfaced last year.

A federal grand jury in Los Angeles is investigating the activities of Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach, a controversial New York-based law firm that has brought hundreds of shareholder lawsuits against American corporations, sources close to the case said Thursday. Led by San Diego attorney William Lerach, the firm has been at the forefront of a flood of investor lawsuits filed recently against bankrupt Enron Corp.

Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach, the biggest law firm representing investors in fraud suits, has decided to split in two because it has grown too large to be managed efficiently, senior partners said Wednesday. The decision came in the last three days to divide the firm into two entities, to be based in New York and San Diego, said partner William S. Lerach, who heads the San Diego office.

Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach, the largest U.S. securities law firm, won't be able to pursue a lawsuit in state court on behalf of New York City pension funds against J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and other WorldCom Inc. investment banks, a federal judge ruled Monday. The funds may be forced to become part of a shareholder class-action lawsuit filed in federal court in New York against officers and banks employed by ailing WorldCom, the second-biggest U.S. long-distance company, lawyers said.

A retired real estate mortgage broker has agreed to plead guilty to a criminal charge related to claims that he took more than $2.4 million in kickbacks from Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman, a New York-based law firm, to be a plaintiff in securities-fraud cases. Howard J.

The high-profile law firm Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach confirmed Friday that it is the subject of a Los Angeles federal grand jury probe that is examining whether the firm and others paid people to serve as plaintiffs in shareholder class-action suits. Criminal defense lawyers said Friday that a wave of grand jury subpoenas issued to shareholders who had repeatedly appeared in the lawsuits had touched off a scramble for representation.

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.

Melvyn I. Weiss, the co-founder of a law firm that was among the nation's most successful in class-action litigation, vowed Friday to clear his name and beat federal charges that he participated in a kickback scheme that allegedly netted millions of dollars in illicit legal fees.

Former Milberg Weiss partner Steven Schulman pleaded guilty in a Los Angeles federal courtroom Tuesday to one count of conspiracy in connection with a kickback scheme that allegedly netted millions of dollars in illicit legal fees. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Schulman, 56, faces 27 to 33 months in prison and will pay the government more than $2 million. U.S. District Judge John F. Walter set June 23 as the sentencing date.

A former Beverly Hills ophthalmologist whose decision to cooperate with prosecutors helped launch a federal investigation of class-action law firm Milberg Weiss pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy and obstruction of justice. Steven Cooperman's plea in federal court in Los Angeles came a day after David Bershad, a former partner at Milberg who was responsible for the firm's financial affairs, admitted guilt in the same probe.

A plea agreement by a former Brentwood eye doctor in the federal case against a prominent New York law firm suggests that prosecutors are seeking still more indictments, possibly including class-action lawsuit king William S. Lerach, legal experts said. Steven Cooperman, 64, will plead guilty to taking more than $6.4 million in secret payments from Milberg Weiss & Bershad to serve as its lead plaintiff in class-action suits, prosecutors said Wednesday.

The possibility of more indictments involving class-action law giant Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman caused the Los Angeles judge in the case Wednesday to postpone setting a trial date for the five defendants already charged. At a status conference, federal prosecutors and defense lawyers repeatedly alluded to the prospect of additional indictments, which many observers believe could involve William S. Lerach.

Facing up to 10 years in prison for staging an art theft and an insurance swindle, Steven G. Cooperman was a desperate man. Luckily for him, he had participated in something bigger -- or so he told federal prosecutors. In return for a big reduction in his sentence, the former Beverly Hills eye surgeon served up a tempting target: the powerhouse New York law firm of Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach.

New York Atty. Gen. Eliot Spitzer will return $124,455 in contributions to his gubernatorial campaign from Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman, the law firm accused of paying kickbacks to clients, Spitzer aides said Friday. The campaign decided to return money after Thursday's indictment of the New York firm, said Christine Anderson, a spokeswoman for Spitzer's campaign. The figure includes contributions from individual lawyers, she said.

New York Atty. Gen. Eliot Spitzer will return $124,455 in contributions to his gubernatorial campaign from Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman, the law firm accused of paying kickbacks to clients, Spitzer aides said Friday. The campaign decided to return money after Thursday's indictment of the New York firm, said Christine Anderson, a spokeswoman for Spitzer's campaign. The figure includes contributions from individual lawyers, she said.

A retired real estate mortgage broker has agreed to plead guilty to a criminal charge related to claims that he took more than $2.4 million in kickbacks from Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman, a New York-based law firm, to be a plaintiff in securities-fraud cases. Howard J.