Feds Try to Kick Prominent Defense Lawyer Off Hip-Hop Mogul's Drug Case, Calling Him House Counsel
Claiming that a prominent New York defense lawyer has multiple conflicts of interest and has acted unethically by accepting attorney’s fees in cash, prosecutors are asking a federal judge in Brooklyn to bar Jeffrey Lichtman from defending a hip-hop mogul in a major drug case.
However, Lichtman says he has done nothing wrong and claims the government, by contending that he acted as house counsel for an alleged drug-trafficking enterprise run by his client, James Rosemond, is desperately trying to prevent him from doing his job, reports the New York Law Journal.
Noting that the feds know about the cash attorney’s fees because he reported the payment, as required, Lichtman said: “What house counsel who is trying to protect the ‘house’ is going to fill out the tax form? It’s like the Salem witch trials. If I float they hang me; if I sink, I’m dead.”
A 1990 graduate of Duke University School of Law, Lichtman is now 46. He worked for Gerald Shargel before hanging his own shingle in 1999.
Rosemond is the chief executive officer of Czar Entertainment.
Additional coverage:
New York Post: “Feds ask judge to review defense lawyer in hip hop mogul drug case”
Reuters: “Prosecutors ask for removal of record executive’s attorney”
