Lawyers of the Day: Arthur Cutillo, Michael Kimelman, and Jason Goldfarb
Today the winners of Lawyer of the Day honors are obvious. Congratulations to Arthur Cutillo, Michael Kimelman, and Jason Goldbfarb, three attorneys who stand accused of involvement in the infamous Galleon Group insider trading scheme.
Both Cutillo and Kimelman have distinguished pedigrees, with ties to two top firms. Cutillo (left), a holder of an M.S. in chemical engineering as well as a J.D. (both from Villanova), was an associate at the white-shoe firm of Ropes & Gray. Kimelman (right), a partner at Incremental Capital LLC, once worked as an associate at super-prestigious Sullivan & Cromwell. Check out Cutillo’s firm bio and Kimelman’s LinkedIn profile over here.
The third charged lawyer, Jason Goldfarb, apparently worked as a personal injury lawyer in Brooklyn. He allegedly served as a conduit of information between Cutillo and Zvi Goffer — the former Galleon employee apparently referred to as “Octopussy” at the SEC, because “he had his arms in so many insider” trading schemes.
More on our three honorees, after the jump.
So what do these two gents stand accused — and remember, they’ve just been accused, not convicted — of doing? From Am Law Daily:
According to a complaint filed against seven of those charged, Cutillo is alleged to have provided inside information on three transactions on which Ropes advised private equity clients: TPG and Silver Lake’s $8.2 billion acquisition of Avaya in June 2007, TPG’s $1.3 billion acquisition of Axcan Pharma in November 2007, and Bain Capital’s $2.2 billion acquisition of 3Com in September of that year. (Ropes is known for its strong private equity practice and has advised Bain and TPG on several high-profile deals, including a $17.9 billion buyout of radio giant Clear Channel and $28.1 billion sale of Alltel to Verizon last year.)
Cutillo was on the recruiting committee an in-office interviewer at Ropes & Gray — put your best foot forward for the applicants! You can read more about him over at Guanabee (which located Cutillo’s complete bio on the R&G recruiting page). [FN1]
As for Mike Kimelman, here’s a bit about him from Moneyshow (via Clusterstock):
Michael Kimelman is a founder and partner at Incremental Capital, LLC, a newly formed proprietary trading and hedge fund management firm in New York City. Mr. Kimelman has been involved in trading and money management since 1997. He was previously the number one trader at several firms, including recently as a partner at Remsenberg Capital. Prior to becoming a full-time trader, Mr. Kimelman worked as a mergers and acquisitions lawyer for Sullivan & Cromwell. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst and graduate of the University of Southern California Law School.
The third attorney, Jason Goldfarb, was an associate at the personal injury firm of Brecher Fishman Pasternack Walsh Tilker & Ziegler, in Brooklyn. As one might expect from a PI lawyer in Brooklyn, Goldfarb had a certain swagger to him; he allegedly derided some of his co-conspirators as “nervous nellies,” essentially telling them to man up.
According to the New York Law Journal, here’s the role Goldfarb played in the scheme (along with Arthur Cutillo):
Messrs. Cutillo and Goldfarb were charged as part of the insider trading network allegedly headed by Zvi Goffer, 32, a broker-dealer formerly with The Schottenfeld Group and now with Incremental Capital in New York City.Mr. Cutillo allegedly gave information to Mr. Goldfarb on several mergers and acquisitions involving public companies that Ropes & Gray was advising, including Axcan Pharma, Inc., Avaya, Inc. and 3Com Corp.
Mr. Goldfarb, in turn, gave that information to Mr. Goffer. Both Messrs. Goldfarb and Cutillo are accused of receiving cash payments for the tips.
We don’t know how well personal injury firms in Brooklyn pay. But shouldn’t a Biglaw paycheck be enough to live on, even if you have wife and son and live in a nice suburb like Ridgewood, New Jersey? (For some speculation on Cutillo and his finances, see the comments on our last post.)
Read extensive coverage of the Galleon Group insider trading case over at our sister site, Dealbreaker.
[FN1] Cutillo is not the first Ropes & Gray IP lawyer to have a brush with the law this year. From the Daily News of Newburyport:
A Newburyport patent lawyer has resigned his right to practice law over accusations he billed his firm and clients more than $700,000 from a company he created himself, according to the state Board of Bar Overseers of the Supreme Judicial Court.The Board of Bar Overseers, which has the authority to regulate and discipline lawyers, accepted the resignation of Matthew P. Vincent, a former Georgetown selectman chairman who did not run for re-election this year….
According to the official judgment issued by the board called a Judgment Accepting Affadavit of Resignation as a Disciplinary Sanction, Vincent in 2002 started a company called The IP Resource Company that performs patent database searches. However, Vincent never informed his law partners or clients that he was the owner and operator of the company, and billed the law firm for services over a period of six years. Vincent’s invoices totalled $733,771.30.
Arthur Cutillo was just an associate (and not a particularly senior one). But Matthew Vincent was a partner, recognized by Chambers and Partners as being a top practitioner in his field.
All About Arthur Cutillo, Alleged Insider Trader [Guanabee]
Ropes & Gray Lawyer In Custody In Galleon Case [WSJ Law Blog]
Ropes & Gray Lawyer Arrested in Insider-Trading Probe [Am Law Daily]
Alleged Insider Trader Michael Kimelman Is A Former Sullivan & Cromwell Associate [Clusterstock]
What The Complaint Says About Ropes & Gray’s Arthur Cutillo [Law Review]
Local lawyer, former selectman, disbarred [Daily News of Newburyport]
Earlier: Breaking: Arrest at Ropes & Gray in Galleon Insider Trading Case
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Comments
I could've been first, but I'm too cool for that BS.
Cool enough for second or third!
Dammit!!
- 1
I heard NY bar results were released today. Can anyone provide information on how I can find out if I passed?
A WINRAR IS THESE GUYS
Mystical Walrus, show yourself, and take whats coming to you!
Oppressors.
"The land of the greed, and home of the slave."
Our work here is done.
EQUALITY SECURE
I guarantee you these fuckers were all over CCU last year. That stock was manipulated up and down by PE guys. Welcome to the wonderful world of disgorgement, you idiots.
Notice when Sullivan & Cromwell is implicated in scumbaggery, PE remains silent.
One always wonders when you see a former S7C M&A attorney turned "top" trader.
Does anyone know these lawyers' religious / ethnic affiliations?
If so, is their alleged scheming behavior in keeping with unflattering stereotypes about their religion / ethnic affiliation?
Also - and I apologize for my faulty memory - does anyone have the last name and religious / ethnic affiliation of the lawyer accused last week of running a Ponzi scheme out of Florida? I think he worked for a law firm called "Rothstein, Rosefeldt and Adler", but I'm not certain.
Thanks for clarifying matters for me. I just want to make sure that there isn't an unfortunate trend developing here.
These amateur thugs deserve to feel the wrath of the penal system. I am sure the burly peons will feast on these defendants once they are sentenced to prison.
On an aside, why isn't this website covering those bumbling deputies that rifled through defense counsel's papers in an open hearing? Is this type of conduct sanctionable? Or is it allowed in the Commissar Obama regime?
11 is not an anti-semite, he's just jealous. Oy vey,
This comment is addressed to post no. 11.
"The meek shall inherit the earth."
The answer to your question is a common answer to "Who are the meek?"
These guys are fucked, and so are their families. I hope they feel good about what they've done to all those who rely on them. If you're going to be a crook, you should at least be a good one.
Cutillo = Latino
Jews
Anyone speak Spanish here? Correct me if I am mistaken but doesn't "Cutillo" mean "asshole" in Spanish? Thanks.
11,
I don't give a sheenyweed about their religious affiliation. But I do wonder if they are money lenders.
Based on his previous work at Merck, Cutillo should change his name to Harry Lime.
15 - Innocent until proven guilty, as Lat notes:
"So what do these two gents stand accused — and remember, they’ve just been accused, not convicted — of doing?"
Is Kash's beaver circumcized?
Italians are just Jews with better food.
23 - except also dumb as rocks and greasy and sleazy.
@22
I am warning you. Do not speak of the sacred beaver of Kash.
ShaFeef
My opinion is that Kimelman looks like a d-bag. I am not surprised he is an S&C alum.
Do Jews steal because of their physical inferiority?
Infidels,
Soon I will make the sexy sexy with Kash, and you will all bow down to her as she becomes, KASHEEF!!!
ShaFeef
ShaFeef:
I wish thank you very much that the Kash beaver pic be posted on flickr for holy admiration by my sultans, God willing.
27 - Jewish intelligence is overall higher than everyone else. Any brief research will confirm this.
http://www.slate.com/id/2177228/
Can someone please tell me what "felching" is? ShaFeef and JaKe tell me that they practice this behavior upon each other. Please inform - thank you in advance.
When did degrees from schools like Rutgers, Lafayette college, Villanova and short stints in Biglaw = "distinguished pedigrees."
I realize it's easy to be blinded when compared to a PI lawyer in Brooklyn, but lets try to maintain a little perspective.
The two gentlemen pictured look strangely similar...
Typical strivers who went to shit schools
As an S&C alum AND a Ropes & Gray alum, I can honestly say that this news could NOT make me any happier. If only my current (soon to be former) firm were caught up in the scandal. Then Nirvana would be mine.
-- Lawyer Gay, prestigious in resume only
Number 11 -- why the (not so subtle) hostility toward Jews? The ethnic diversity of those involved in this scheme shows only the universal nature of greed (and stupity).
In the meantime, you might want to consider the morality of your racist views.
RJ
More Jews ripping people off.
They share teeth, I see.
As an S&C associate Kimelman worked with mid-level associate Carlos Spinelli-Noseda and newly-minted partner John O'Brien. Very interesting.
36: We are talking about a small minority of the U.S. population (less than 2%) that is behind over 85% of the financial scandals, including most of the big ones, measured both by dollar amounts and the number of people defrauded. Think not just Madoff, but also Michael Milken and Ivan Boesky in the 80s. It is somewhat remarkable that there is not more of a public outcry. There would almost certainly be more public indignation if any another minority ethnic group -- say Indian Americans or Muslims -- were behind a comparably high percentage of the scandals.
Jesus, I hate Jews. You hear that! JESUS, Jews are shady fucking thieves!
Speaking of Ivan Boesky, I bet this fuck, his nephew, Aaron Boesky is up to something:
http://www.freep.com/article/20091016/COL06/910160382//
He used to try to scam my homework at MSU, I bet he graduated with a 2.5
An American of middle eastern descent just killed a bunch of soldiers. His religious faith and race will be mentioned repeatedly by the media. Madoff's religion was rarely mentioned, even when he ripped off his own people. You can try to distinguish the scenarios, but, to someone without a horse in the race, they are the same.
36 - numbers are numbers. Black men are good at basketball. Jews are greedy and steal money.
We need to bomb inside traders back to the stoneage!
-DOJ Secure
11 - I believe they are Amish
This should be a good lesson to firms who keep on unfairly and incompetently throwing people on the street.
If you work at a law firm, you can't help but to have access to tons of insider information and it is not difficult to find somebody who can use it. If done well, and we know the SEC can't catch a two legged dog on ice, you can profit from it.
However, why do lawyers working for prestigious law firms don't do it? Is it because of the ethical guidelines or the small chance of getting caught? No, because they have a secure job that pays well and they have a future. They don't think it is worth it.
What happens when a law firm constantly stealthly lays off associates, makes up bad reviewes for them while keeping them on payroll. Further, what happens when all those who are there realize there is no freaking way in hell anybody is making partner in the next 5 years. The calculations change, especially for those who are about to be laid off, and people will engage in insider trading. Further, if they see that they will be laid off, they can just screw with you and your clients in other legal ways such as doing a crappy job, making mistakes in documents, deleting half of your system and other more sinister ways. What are you going to do, fire me twice? Clearly I would not care about my reputation among big law since I will never work there again.
The lesson to learn from this is that partners cannot continiously treat associates like total shit because even though shit rolls downhill, once it accumulates enough, those on top will be siting in shit as well.
If I WERE a client, I would not do business with firms who have a mistreated their associates and who have hundeds of people, most of whom still have insider info since many of the old deals are coming back, hating them. Firms like Latham, Orrick, Winston and others (please freel free to add) should not be trusted with confidential information because there is a chance that such information will leak or your deals will get screwed up on purpose.
Of course, nobody should be dealing with ropes and gray. I would pull my deals back and make sure they delete everything from their system. You don't know how many more people are involved in this conspiracy. If this guy is as geeky as he appears to be, there is probably a more senior person involved.
P.S. This is what happens when you hire people from shitty schools. Without you, they have no chance at a decent legal career both because they don't have a pedigree and cause they are stupid. It's either ropes and gray or [my name] and associates P.C., a shitty small firm where hiring partner would say something like this: "I would rather hire Suffolk graduates than those from Harvard or BU because Suffolk is better according to my great sense of judgment which have landed me in this amazing firm where I earn 250K as managing partner after 30 years of experience - or shit, my toyota avalon is getting towed."
Yo, minorities running this website.
WHY DO YOU SENSOR AND BAN PEOPLE IF THEY SAY SOMETHING PRETTY MILD ABOUT A BLACK OR HISPANIC PERSON BUT CRAZY JEW RANTING SOON TO BE FOLLOWED BY BLOOD LIBEL IS ALLOWED TO GO ON?
EveR don't sensor anybody, which I prefer even as a Jew, or sensor these guys.
Madoff's religion was mentioned CONSTANTLY. Every Jewish charity he helped rip off was on the news. Any one who didnt see that or did not appreciated the outrage of the Jewish community is just blinded by hatred and bigotry. And yes, the ethnicity of the Fort Hood shooter is also mentioned with each report on the news. Anyone who extrapolates his act to the greater Muslim community is also bigoted and ignorant. Nothing like the anonymous internet give a voice to angry racists.
I just wacked off in the men's room. Someone came in, so I had to stop for a little bit.
-In-house Secure
Enron, Martha Stewart, Arthur Andersen,
48: before you rant, at least use spell check.
Cartman hates Kyle. Enough said
48 - Are you saying the insinuation that Aaron Boesky is as shady as his uncle is libel? If so, go back to law school buddy.
I grew up with the guy and was in his fraternity. He milked being related to Ivan the terrible to get the ladies. I even recall him bragging about having inside info about a company, then shorting the stock.
I am sure he was talking shit, but anyone that knows the guy, knows he is a complete dick.
He probably went to Hong Kong because he wanted a harem of clueless asian women and an unregulated market.
Kimmelman spent less than two years at S&C and left more than a decade ago, reports another Reuters article.
Not to defend S&C, I"m just saying...
Jason Goldfarb is yet another illustrious Brooklyn Law Grad!
Way to go BLS!
Jason Goldfarb is yet another illustrious Brooklyn Law Grad!
Way to go BLS!
anyone know if jason goldfarb is from Michigan?
11, 37: Where is the logic here? Should I dislike christians because George Bush ran this country into the ground? Are all christians illiterate beer drinking cowboys?
And how do you place this mess at the feet of Jews? Do think Raj is a Jew? (Hint: "No.")
RJ
This is my favorite quote from this story: "If you find yourself chewing the memory card in your cellphone to destroy any record of your misconduct, something has gone terribly wrong with your character,” said Robert S. Khuzami, the S.E.C. enforcement director, who announced the agency’s own civil fraud charges against those named in the criminal complaint."
Priceless.
Jason Goldfarb graduated from Brooklyn Law School and managed to get a job at Brecher Fishman basically because he was close family friends with a senior partner there. He was quite possibly the biggest douche in one of the douchiest law firms that does PI. Most of the attorneys at his firm dressed in crappy poly blend suits to match their clients (why bother showing off?), but Jason was always impeccably outfitted in Hugo Boss. He had "trying too hard" written all over him. You could never expect to work anything out with him or even manage to have a civil trial. Taking his word for it was not an option. He was, as the another commenter said, a typical striver from a shitty school, trying to make up for the fact that he was an incompetent jerk who barely got his job in the first place.
This news didn't surprise me in the least, but I do feel sorry for his family and his firm. They took a chance on the guy, and look what he did.
And yeah, innocent until proven guilty, etc. Who knows, this all might be a huge mistake. It should be noted however, he toned down his arrogance a bit these past few weeks. Maybe this will be good for him in the long run?
@ 58: There are no Jews in Michigan.
62- It's called West Bloomfield.