Lawyer Introductions Led to $550K Fine for Manatt Phelps in NY Pension Fund Case
Updated: A California law firm has agreed to pay $550,000 to the state of New York and refrain from appearing before public pension funds there for the next five years, after several unidentified partners introduced, or tried to introduce, financial firms seeking money to several of the institutional investors.
Although Manatt Phelps & Phillips partners based in California and New York regularly worked as lobbyists, they weren’t licensed placement agents, which became a focus of a probe by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, according to Bloomberg and Reuters.
“Unlicensed agents are untrained, unsupervised and typically traffic in political and personal connections to get access to public money,” said Cuomo in a written statement. “We have seen all varieties of this risky behavior and now it includes a prominent national law firm.”
A press release from the AG’s office provides further details and links to a copy of the settlement agreement (PDF).
The firm said it is glad to have resolved the matter and embraces the AG’s new Reform Code of Conduct.
Additional coverage:
Albany Times Union: “Faso’s firm pays fine in pension fund investigation”
New York Daily News: “Former Gubernatorial Hopeful John Faso’s Law Firm to Settle in Pay-to-Play Scandal”
Updated at 3:52 p.m. to provide further information from Cuomo press release.
