Lerach’s Gone, But Business Is Booming at Coughlin Stoia
Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins is flourishing despite the loss of founder William Lerach, who was sentenced to two years in prison for a scheme to pay kickbacks to lead plaintiffs while at his former firm.
Coughlin Stoia is filing more cases on average than in the months before Lerach’s resignation on Aug. 31, the National Law Journal reports. About two dozen new pension funds have retained the services of the securities class-action firm.
“The reality is our business has picked up,” name partner Patrick Coughlin told the NLJ. “And it didn’t have anything to do with having Bill here or gone. He’s a significant player in the field. That said, the lawyers here and now are some of the top lawyers in the field and have the most trial experience handling litigation.”
Coughlin said securities class action litigation slowed down in 2006, but it is picking back up again with a wave of stock-options backdating cases. The firm is also expecting to see more business related to the subprime mortgage meltdown.
The firm also decided to start pursuing intellectual property litigation with the addition of two IP lawyers from Duane Morris.
