Case library · Lawyers in the Dock
Secret Payments to Class Plaintiffs
United States v. Lerach (2008)
Charge: Conspiracy to obstruct justice and to make false statements under oathCourt: U.S. District Court, C.D. Cal.State: CaliforniaDocket: Lawyers in the Dock
The facts
A class-action lawyer built a practice suing companies on behalf of shareholders. Being first to file mattered, so his firm kept a small group of people ready to serve as the named plaintiff. Prosecutors say those people were secretly paid roughly a tenth of the fees the firm won, and that the payments were hidden from the judges who had to approve those fees. Sworn answers and court papers were said to conceal the arrangement.
You have the facts the court had. Guilty or not guilty? Call it in the game with your friends, then see what the court actually decided. Wrong call, you drink.
Citation: United States v. Lerach (C.D. Cal. 2008)
Read more at justice.gov. The source reveals the outcome.