2nd Circuit Court

Dreier Law Firm to File for Bankruptcy

A receiver for the Dreier law firm says it will soon file for bankruptcy, following an alleged massive fraud by its founder and sole equity partner, Marc Dreier. “I have advised counsel for the SEC and counsel for Mr. Dreier of my intention to seek bankruptcy protection, and I believe…

Dec 16, 2008 5:04 PM CST

Lawyers’ Full Employment Act: Alleged $50B Madoff Fraud

In addition to keeping prosecutors and white-collar defense lawyers busy, the alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme that 70-year-old Bernard Madoff is accused of operating under the guise of a purportedly profitable hedge fund is also providing plenty of work for securities and tax specialists, not to mention litigators. As accountants…

Dec 15, 2008 9:32 PM CST

Don’t Expect Paychecks on Monday, Receiver Warns Remaining Dreier Troops

For those who may have wondered what it’s like to practice law at a partnership that’s under receivership, a notice to Dreier employees filed in federal court in Manhattan within the past day or two provides a detailed account. Those who remove firm property without authorization do so at their…

Dec 12, 2008 7:51 PM CST

Feds: Attorney Marc Dreier Stole $380M; a ‘Houdini of Impersonation’

Calling New York attorney Marc Dreier a “Houdini of impersonation and false documents” who allegedly stole $380 million from hedge funds and investors, a federal prosecutor today urged that he be held without bail. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Streeter also said the alleged fraud has been ongoing since 2006 and…

Dec 11, 2008 5:12 PM CST

Dire Situation at Dreier: Bills Unpaid, Client Funds Allegedly Missing

Just when it seemed that the alleged situation involving the founder of Dreier and his disintegrating 238-attorney law firm could hardly get much worse, even more bad news is being reported. After he was arrested and jailed in Toronto last week, Marc Dreier allegedly managed to transfer $10 million in…

Dec 10, 2008 10:06 PM CST

Judge’s Law Clerk Gets 4 Months, Loses Motor Home in Prostitution Case

A former law clerk to a New York trial court judge has been sentenced in federal court to four months of home confinement and forfeited the motor home he used to drive a prostitute across state lines to a men’s club meeting in 2005. Michael Stebick, 61, also was sentenced…

Dec 10, 2008 8:50 PM CST

Convicted Ex-Gen Re Finance Chief: I Should Have Testified

Accused of participating in a $597 million fraud to deceive shareholders of American International Group Inc. into thinking the insurance giant had $500 million more in loss reserves than it did, Elizabeth Monrad took her lawyer’s advice and didn’t testify. Doing so, she felt, would not only pose a risk…

Dec 10, 2008 4:50 PM CST

How Attorney Marc Dreier Allegedly Sold Worthless Forged Paper for $113M

In an era of high-tech fraud, the founder of the Dreier law firm is accused of doing it the old-fashioned way. Using little more than his position and skills as a prominent and seasoned attorney, Marc Dreier allegedly tricked sophisticated investors into paying more than $100 million for worthless forged…

Dec 9, 2008 8:20 PM CST

Dreier Founder Charged in ‘Brazen’ Alleged $100M Investment Fraud Attempt

The founder of the not quite 250-attorney Dreier law firm was charged today by federal prosecutors in Manhattan with securities and wire fraud, in connection with what an Securities and Exchange Commission official describes as an alleged “brazen” attempt to cheat three unnamed hedge funds out of $100 million. Marc…

Dec 8, 2008 8:09 PM CST

No Supreme Court Appeal in Case that Put Prosecutor Tactics on Trial

Prosecutors have declined to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review a ruling that threw out 13 indictments because the government pressured the defendants’ employer to stop paying their legal fees. The New York City-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled in August that prosecutors violated the employees’…

Dec 2, 2008 12:00 PM CST

Citizens Overseas Can Be Searched Without Warrant, Court Rules

Evidence acquired in a warrantless search of an American citizen overseas may be admitted in a court here, a federal appeals court has ruled. The New York City-based 2nd U.S. Circuit of Appeals ruled in the case of three followers of Osama bin Laden convicted in a conspiracy that included…

Nov 25, 2008 1:00 PM CST

Temp Attorneys Paid $35-$40/Hour; Plaintiff Firms Seek $500 in Xerox Case

At least two graduates of big-name law schools earned $35 to $40 an hour to work on a contract basis in class action litigation against Xerox Corp. But now the law firms that hired them are seeking to get reimbursed about $500 per hour for their services. Plaintiffs’ counsel have…

Nov 24, 2008 8:52 PM CST

Amish Families to Sue N.Y. Town Over Building Code Enforcement Issues

Contending that their First Amendment right to religious freedom is being abridged by too-zealous enforcement of a New York municipality’s building codes, a group of Amish families plans to file a federal suit against Morristown. “Lori H. Windham, an attorney for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty of Washington, D.C.,…

Nov 10, 2008 7:58 PM CST

Feds Won’t Charge Eliot Spitzer, Ex-New York Governor and AG

Eliot Spitzer, whose law-and-order image was tarnished earlier this year when his reported use of high-class prostitutes made international headlines, won’t be federally prosecuted. Michael Garcia, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, announced today that federal prosecutors won’t file criminal charges against the former New York governor and ex-attorney general of…

Nov 6, 2008 9:16 PM CST

2nd Circuit OKs Suit Over Alleged Union Carbide Water Pollution in Bhopal, India

Nearly 25 years after a catastrophic accident in Bhopal, India, killed thousands of people, a federal appeals court in the U.S. has reinstated a 2004 lawsuit concerning those allegedly exposed to toxic drinking water and contaminated soil after the 1984 gas leak at a Union Carbide Corp. pesticide plant there.…

Nov 4, 2008 8:00 PM CST