How some law firms are affected by the government shutdown

Law firms handling antitrust, capital markets and white-collar defense work are feeling the effects of the partial government shutdown, which has recently become the longest shutdown in U.S. history.

Jan 14, 2019 10:23 AM CST

Lawyer stole money to pay for plastic surgery, overdue income taxes, party with Hawaiian band and more

An Oregon attorney who pleaded guilty to stealing money from client trust accounts and her law firm, and not paying income taxes for six years, was sentenced Thursday to serve 46 months in federal prison. Pamela S. Hediger, who had a Corvallis personal injury practice, was ordered to pay $1.9…

Jan 11, 2019 2:30 PM CST

Michael Cohen says he’s free from ‘personal and mental incarceration’ before getting 3-year sentence

President Donald Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, told a Manhattan federal judge on Wednesday that he has been “living in a personal and mental incarceration” since the day he began working for Trump. Cohen, 52, said his weakness was “a blind loyalty to Donald Trump,” but he had moved forward.…

Dec 12, 2018 1:00 PM CST

Special counsel says Michael Cohen has gone to ‘significant lengths’ to aid investigation

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan on Friday filed a sentencing memo recommending a “substantial prison term” for Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former lawyer, even as the special prosecutor’s office filed a separate memo that said Cohen has gone to “significant lengths” to aid its investigation. Cohen is set to be…

Dec 7, 2018 5:36 PM CST

The wives of white-collar crime: Support group aims to help families and end stigma

Women from four continents learned the hard way that they were married to white-collar criminals. Now their private online support group, the White-Collar Wives Project, is shining a light on damage that white-collar crime can cause the entire family.

Dec 1, 2018 2:25 AM CST

Law firms are making sure they comply with the Foreign Agents Registration Act

The Foreign Agents Registration Act requires anyone lobbying or doing public relations for a foreign government, company or other entity to register with the Department of Justice and file detailed reports about their work every six months. Violations carry penalties of up to $10,000 and five years in prison.

Dec 1, 2018 2:05 AM CST

Former Pennsylvania attorney general goes to jail after state high court turns down appeal

Updated: Former Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane reported to jail Thursday to begin serving a sentence of up to 23 months for perjury and obstruction of the law. Judge Wendy Demchick-Alloy of Montgomery County revoked Kane’s bail on Tuesday, citing the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s refusal to hear Kane’s appeal on…

Nov 28, 2018 8:15 AM CST

Special counsel claims Manafort violated plea agreement by lying

The special counsel’s office says President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, lied to the FBI and the special counsel’s office after he pleaded guilty in September to reduced charges of conspiracy. The lying violated the plea agreement, which required cooperation in special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of Russian…

Nov 27, 2018 9:28 AM CST

6-carat diamond ring up for auction as lawyer is sentenced for hiding it in bankruptcy

A 6-plus carat diamond engagement ring that led to an Arizona lawyer’s prison sentence is going up for auction. The ring, once intended for the fiancee of Scottsdale lawyer Scott Maasen, will be put up for bid on Dec. 5, the Arizona Republic reports. Maasen admitted in an April guilty…

Nov 20, 2018 2:57 PM CST

Former partner sentenced to five years in prison for scheme to bribe Alabama lawmaker

A former partner at Balch & Bingham has been sentenced to five years in prison for a scheme to bribe an Alabama state legislator to oppose expansion of a site designated for an environmental cleanup. U.S. District Judge Abdul Kallon sentenced lawyer Joel Gilbert, 46, on Tuesday, report AL.com, WBRC…

Oct 26, 2018 6:30 AM CDT

Suspended lawyer is convicted of embezzling $26M from his now-bankrupt law firm

A suspended Atlanta lawyer was convicted Friday for embezzling $26 million from the law firm where he once served as managing partner. Nathan Hardwick IV was convicted on 21 counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and one count of making false statements to banks,…

Oct 15, 2018 11:20 AM CDT

Former BigLaw partner is sentenced to five years in prison in $7.8M scheme

A former partner at Hunton & Williams and Willkie Farr & Gallagher has been sentenced to five years in prison for a phony invoice scheme that bilked her firms out of about $7.8 million. Keila Ravelo, 52, of Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, was sentenced on Wednesday, nearly a year after…

Oct 11, 2018 3:00 PM CDT

Proskauer Rose agrees to pay $63M to resolve investor claims in Stanford’s Ponzi scheme

Proskauer Rose has agreed to pay $63 million to resolve the claims of investors who lost money as a result of a Ponzi scheme by R. Allen Stanford, whose companies were represented by a former partner at the firm. Proskauer would not admit any wrongdoing in the settlement, which still…

Sep 10, 2018 11:36 AM CDT

Former Dewey chairman reaches agreement with SEC to pay six-figure civil penalty

Former Dewey & LeBoeuf chairman Steven Davis has reached an agreement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to pay a $130,000 civil penalty, the New York Law Journal reports. Dewey & LeBoeuf went out of business in 2012. Law firm leaders were accused of misleading lenders and bond buyers…

Sep 5, 2018 11:11 AM CDT

10 Questions: This comedian and Oregon lawyer stands up against sexual harassment

ABA Journal: In 2002, you decided to move from Los Angeles to Portland, Oregon. Did you have to change your practice to adapt to a smaller legal community?

Mitra Shahri: No, perverts are perverts everywhere you go.

Sep 1, 2018 2:45 AM CDT