Partner Allegedly Steals Millions From Biglaw Firms To Lead Luxurious Lifestyle

If these allegations are true, perhaps partners aren't being paid enough?

Partners are often the people associates love to hate. Bad Biglaw hours? Blame the partners. Bad Biglaw culture? Blame the partners. Bad Biglaw bonuses? Blame the partners. All of this hatred, undue or otherwise, is why people absolutely revel in the schadenfreude of a Biglaw partner in trouble with the law.

Take a look at this juicy lede and tell us you didn’t feel a small amount of joy knowing this Biglaw partner is getting a lump of coal in her stocking from the feds:

A prominent antitrust attorney and her husband, who is accused of being the head of a New Jersey drug trafficking ring in a separate federal case, were arrested early Monday at their Englewood Cliffs home for allegedly stealing millions of dollars from two New York City law firms where she had been a partner, federal authorities said.

Believe it or not, the attorney in question in this crime drama was not a castmember of the Real Housewives of New Jersey. Who is this alleged femme fatale?

Meet Keila D. Ravelo. She’s a graduate of Columbia University Law School who went on work at Clifford Chance before becoming a partner at Hunton & Williams, and later a partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher. She then married and lived happily ever after… thanks to her alleged multimillion-dollar crime spree.

The government accuses Ravelo and her husband, Melvin Feliz, of creating dummy companies and then funneling millions of dollars from both of her former firms — more than $5.75 million, to be exact — to those companies for “legal consulting fees” on work that was never done. According to the Bergen Record, Ravelo reportedly used that money to fund a lavish lifestyle for herself and her husband.

Speaking of Ravelo’s husband, it seems that he’s got a host of his own legal problems. Earlier this year, he accumulated various drug charges after being named as the alleged leader of a drug trafficking ring where he reportedly sought to transport almost 50 pounds of cocaine from California to New Jersey. Hmm, the couple that allegedly commits crime together does time together?

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As for Ravelo’s alleged misdeeds, in the latest Am Law 100 rankings, Willkie Farr’s average profits per partner $2.235 million. Apparently that’s just not enough these days to sate partners who are starving for luxurious items, like paintings worth $125,000 and Miami condos with $325,000 of equity (both used as part of Ravelo’s security to post bond; she also handed over a $200K retirement fund).

Attention Biglaw: you know your partners clearly aren’t being given high enough draws if they’re allegedly forced to lead lives of crime.

At least she had nice taste, according to this 2013 Bergen.com fashion fluff piece:

“The Birkin is a classic,” she says. “Here and there I like to add a little edge or pop of color with an unexpected accessory.”

Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, Manolo Blahnik and Christian Louboutin also top her favorite accessory brands.

In October 2014, Ravelo was named as a “Woman Worth Watching” by the Diversity Journal for her work with Willkie Farr. In the magazine write-up, she noted:

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You learn very quickly that there isn’t necessarily just one path for success, and that it’s up to you to figure out what will make you happy and fulfilled.

It’s too bad that what allegedly made Ravelo “happy and fulfilled” was embezzling money from her firm. She now faces up to 20 years in prison on wire fraud charges.

Per the New Jersey Law Journal, Hunton & Williams and Willkie are “cooperating fully” with law enforcement, while Ravelo’s attorney, Aidan O’Connor of Pashman Stein in Hackensack, New Jersey, says the complaint against his client is “weak.”

How “weak” could the government’s complaint against Keila Ravelo be? We’ll allow our readers to be the judge. It’s available in full on the next page.