Former BigLaw partner is convicted of insider trading
A partner at Arent Fox has been convicted of insider trading for tipping his investment adviser about a pending pharmaceutical merger when he was a lawyer at Hunton & Williams.
Robert Schulman was convicted by a Brooklyn federal jury on Wednesday, report the New York Law Journal (sub. req.) and Reuters. Above the Law notes Law360 (sub. req.) coverage of the conviction.
A lawsuit filed in 2013 by the Securities and Exchange Commission had alleged Schulman passed along the information about Pfizer’s plan to buy King Pharmaceuticals while socializing with the investment adviser. The SEC said Schulman had too much to drink and blurted out, “It would be nice to be King for a day.” The SEC suit did not name Schulman as a defendant.
Schulman was indicted last year, along with the investment adviser, Tibor Klein. The criminal case claimed Schulman’s revelation was deliberate rather than inadvertent, according to the New York Law Journal. Klein was accused of buying stock for himself, Schulman and other clients. Schulman has said he was unaware of the trade made on his behalf.
Schulman was on a leave of absence at Arent Fox, and his email and voice mail were disabled on Wednesday, according to the New York Law Journal. An Arent Fox spokesman told the publication he is no longer with the firm.
Klein’s trial is scheduled for September. The SEC case against Klein has been stayed until his criminal case is resolved.
