After Serving His Time, Ex-Milberg Partner Lerach Blasts Wall Street
Former Milberg partner William Lerach is out of prison and just as outspoken as ever.
In an interview with Reuters, the disbarred lawyer blasted Wall Street and warned of more problems ahead. “There will be another financial fraud wave if serious changes aren’t made,” Lerach said. “We keep repeating the same mistakes. There is no real legal or economic accountability of the people on Wall Street.”
Lerach received a two-year sentence after pleading guilty to paying kickbacks to lead plaintiffs in class actions. But in his Reuters interview, Lerach focused on the compensation paid to Wall Street executives.
“You have a compensation system of corporate executives and bank executives that really encourages them to take extraordinary risks,” he said. “There’s a lack of legal accountability both to the government, to the shareholders and to the corporation.”
Lerach was under home confinement since late last year, and was officially released from custody on Monday. The story says Lerach spent his time in custody reading books and the Encyclopedia Britannica, and writing a newsletter to family and friends.
Looking ahead, Lerach wants to teach and work with progressive economic groups developing public policy proposals.
