The federal government seems to think so, based on the sentence they’re seeking. We’re kind of proud that one of our own, a lawyer, can rank up there with one of the greatest swindlers of all time.
And what does Marc Dreier think he deserves? No more than 12 1/2 years, according to his sentencing memo. More details, including excerpts from Dreier’s seemingly heartfelt letter to Judge Rakoff, over at the WSJ Law Blog.
U.S. Seeks 145-Year Sentence for Lawyer in Fraud Case [City Room]
Sentencing Looming, Dreier Asks For No More than 12 1/2 Years [WSJ Law Blog]
White-Collar Crime
Bernie Madoff has been sentenced to 150 years.
Judge Denny Chin said that the sentence was necessary to deter other people from entering into these kinds of schemes.
The Judge apparently said that he was struck that there was no letter written in support of Bernie Madoff. On the other hand, the judge received 141 pages of letters from Madoff victims.
Madoff allegedly said:
They have accused me and my wife of not being sympathetic. She cries every night, I am also tormented.
Umm … crying doesn’t make you sympathetic. I think instead of turning on the waterworks, Madoff should try not stealing billions of dollars.
But Madoff did apparently say: “I am sorry.”
But the pitchfork rally doesn’t have to end here. Next up: what prison will Madoff be heading to? A “club-fed” facility, or someplace where Madoff might expect “more bareback.”
For extensive and ongoing coverage of L’Affaire Madoff, surf over to our sister site, Dealbreaker.
Find out over at our sister site, Dealbreaker, which has the latest news.
Dreier Sheets [Dealbreaker]
Earlier: Prior ATL coverage of Marc Dreier
The T.V. people are saying that there may be a plea deal in the works for Bernie Madoff:
Prosecutors have filed a motion indicating a Bernard Madoff plea deal is in the works, according to the Associated Press.
I hope the deal includes an opportunity for all the people he swindled to slap him in the face. If you charge people for it you could probably get enough for the next bank bailout.
Quips a tipster: “Dreier gets $20 million bond — but he didn’t steal enough to pay. This guy is no Madoff.”
Dreier Gets $20 Million Bond [Bloomberg]
Dreier to Remain in Jail [Am Law Daily]
Judge Says No to Bail Request; Dreier to Stay Behind Bars [WSJ Law Blog]
Earlier: Prior ATL coverage of Marc Dreier
- 2008 Year in Review, Dreier, Layoffs, Paul Hastings, Pregnancy / Paternity, Shinyung Oh, White-Collar Crime
Top Biglaw Stories of 2008: #2 and #1 (Gossip)
By David LatFinally, the moment you’ve all been waiting for: time to announce Above the Law’s top two stories for 2008, on the gossip front. We’ve also been recapping the top stories on the business side of the fence, but stories about the business of law are available from many other outlets. Juicy law firm gossip is harder to come by.
Our two leading gossip stories were broken here at ATL. They were subsequently picked up by mainstream media outlets, but we covered them first.
Read about the two stories, after the jump.
Continue reading “Top Biglaw Stories of 2008: #2 and #1 (Gossip)”
More bad news for Marc Dreier, the formerly high-flying, Maxim model-dating litigator. From Bloomberg News:
Marc Dreier, the jailed New York law firm founder, must remain in prison while he fights charges that he swindled hedge funds, a federal judge ruled after a prosecutor accused the lawyer of stealing $380 million.
“The evidence does appear to show an enormous risk of flight,” U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas Eaton said at a bail hearing today in Manhattan federal court for Dreier, namesake of the New York law firm Dreier LLP.
Dreier, 58, was arrested on Dec. 7 on U.S. charges that he persuaded two unidentified hedge funds to give him more than $100 million by claiming, falsely, that he was selling at a discount notes issued by New York developer Sheldon Solow. He was arrested after returning to New York from Toronto, where he had been briefly jailed for impersonating a lawyer at the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan.
More links and discussion, after the jump.
Apologies, readers. Although we broke the story of high-profile lawyer Marc Dreier’s arrest in Canada, we’ve fallen behind in covering the latest developments in the Dreier saga (of which there have been many). Fortunately, our friends over at Am Law Daily and the WSJ Law Blog have been following the story quite closely.
We’ve collected some links at the end of this post. The highlights:
- A summary of recent developments, from the WSJ Law Blog: “Dreier appeared to get hit from all sides: a criminal charge in New York stemming from an alleged $100 million fraud against various hedge funds; an SEC suit alleging Dreier had been marketing and selling fake promissory notes to investors; and a suit by Wachovia Bank against Dreier, Dreier LLP (and a handful of others), alleging that a credit revolver and term loan extended to the firm are in default, as of November 1, upon which the bank is owed some $12.7 million.”
- The latest news, from Am Law Daily: “[I]t appears very likely that client funds are indeed missing, according to a sworn statement (PDF) that Dreier partner Joel Chernov gave the SEC…. In the statement, Chernov said Dreier spoke to him and fellow Dreier partner Steven Gursky from a Toronto jail after his arrest there for impersonating a lawyer in an attempt to scam an investment group into wiring him more than $30 million. In those conversations, Chernov told the SEC, Dreier admitted improperly using client funds. Dreier also said that he could have refilled the escrow accounts if only he could return to New York. How? Apparently by selling part of an art collection valued at between $30 and $40 million, according to a separate statement (PDF) from John Provenzano, the firm’s Controller.”
“In his statement, Provenzano claimed Dreier called him twice from the Toronto jail asking him in separate requests to wire $8 million and $10 million from the firm’s escrow accounts into Dreier’s personal accounts. Provenzano (wisely) refused. He also told Dreier the firm owed clients $38 million in connection with its representation of 360Networks. That’s when Dreier mentioned the money he could make selling his art.”
Fine art — no surprises there. As noted, Marc Dreier has a taste for the finer things in life (like luxury real estate).And that’s not all. A source tells us that Dreier is something of a playboy, with a pattern and practice of dating Maxim models (yes, plural). And “not ‘Maxim-quality’ models,” emphasized our source, “but actual Maxim models.”
If Marc Dreier ends up in prison, at least he’ll have nice memories to keep him warm at night.
Filings Describe “Devastating Effect” on Dreier LLP [WSJ Law Blog]
Client Funds Missing, Details on Dreier’s Art Collection, Attorneys Fleeing [Am Law Daily]
Dreier Faces More Allegations [Wall Street Journal (subscription)]
The Death of the Dreier Model [Am Law Daily]
Prominent New York litigator Marc Dreier — founder and managing partner of Dreier LLP, former head of litigation for Fulbright & Jaworski (NY), and former litigation partner at Rosenman & Colin — was arrested in Toronto on Tuesday. The arrest was carried out by Canadian law enforcement.
The alleged offense appears to be financial in nature, with sources mentioning money laundering and misuse of escrow funds as possible charges. The Ontario Teachers Pension Fund and Fortress Investment Group may be involved in some capacity.
The effect of Dreier’s arrest on the firm that bears his name is unclear, but certainly not good. Sources report that some firm escrow accounts have been frozen by law enforcement authorities. Emergency partnership meetings were held Wednesday and today. (This may explain why Marc Dreier and a firm spokesperson did not immediately return our calls seeking comment.)
Marc Dreier lives well, with a fabulous Manhattan apartment rumored to rent for $50,000 a month, plus a place out in the Hamptons. “He lives the life of Greek billionaire tycoon, but he doesn’t make that much money,” says a former employee.
Dreier may not be a Greek billionaire tycoon, but Dreier LLP has been quite successful. According to its firm profile, since its founding in 1996, Dreier has grown to include more than 250 attorneys in six cities. The firm has had a number of high-profile clients, including billionaire developer Sheldon Solow and controversial book publisher Judith Regan (whom the firm later sued, claiming she skipped out on legal fees).
The firm’s holiday party was scheduled to take place tonight at the Waldorf. Not surprisingly, the festivities have been canceled. On one social networking site, a former Dreier employee wrote: “[xxxx] is wondering how he could work for two law firms (Milberg Weiss and Dreier) where both firms’ lead partners were arrested…. Sad commentary on life.”
Update (1:40 AM): Some addenda and corrections:
1. Escrow accounts haven’t been frozen; they’re just short some cash — a lot of cash. One number being bandied about: $38 million.
2. The firm may not be able to make its next payroll, on December 15. There is only $300,000 in the payroll account, and the next payroll is for $2.6 million.
3. Fortress Investment Group is not involved.
4. The holiday party was canceled by an email sent out at around 5 p.m.
Further Update (6:35 PM): Actually, we were right the first time. Fortress Credit Corp., the entity involved in this matter, is a subsidiary of Fortress Investment Group, according to Am Law Daily.
We’ll keep you posted. If you have info to share, feel free to email us. Thanks.
Ask Jeeves: Why Was Your Wife (Stanford Law ’01) Indicted for Tax Evasion on Prostitution Proceeds?
By David LatWe recently reported on Stanford Law School’s new grading system. Does it involve dollar bills? Or leaving book prizes on bedside tables?
Cristina Warthen (née Cristina Schultz) — aka the Stanford Law Escort, now married to David Warthen, the filthy rich co-founder of Ask Jeeves — is back in the news. From the San Jose Mercury News (via TaxProf Blog):
A Stanford law school graduate suspected of paying off her costly student loans by running a high-priced escort service has now been hit with federal tax evasion charges.
In court papers filed Tuesday in San Jose federal court, prosecutors allege that Cristina Warthen failed to pay taxes on more than $133,000 she earned as a prostitute in 2003, jetting off as a call girl for clients in Washington, D.C., Chicago, New York and other cities. The government has charged her with felony tax evasion for failing to pay about $25,000 in federal income taxes.
Warthen’s business as a reputed high-priced hooker was first revealed several years ago, when the federal government searched her then-home in Oakland and seized more than $61,000 in cash suspected to be linked to her escort business. Court papers allege that starting in 2001, Warthen, then Cristina Schultz, used the name “Brazil” and advertised her escort services on a Web site, TouchofBrazil.net.
Brazil. Great beaches. And waxing.
A little bit more, after the jump.
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Virtual Canary in the Digital Mine #3: Total Pre-Cull (Part 1 of 3), Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Predictive Coding
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In a land that is right here and in a time that is right now, a technology has arisen so powerful that it can replace basic human document review. Is it time to bow down before our new robot overlords?First, here’s a little story about me: my life in the legal world began as a paralegal. My first case was a GIANT patent infringement case that was already six years old and had involved as many as five companies, multiple US courts, the ITC and an international standards committee. I knew nothing about any of this.
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The Asia Chronicles – ASSOCIATE AND IN-HOUSE OPENINGS IN HONG KONG / CHINA, JAPAN AND SINGAPORE
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We currently have a number of active openings for associate roles at US and UK firms in HK / China, Singapore and two new in-house openings. As always, please feel free to reach out to us at asia@kinneyrecruiting.com in order to get details of current openings in Asia, as well as to discuss the Asia markets in general and what we expect for openings later this year. Our Evan Jowers and Robert Kinney will be in Beijing the week of March 25 and Evan Jowers will be in Hong Kong the week of April 1, if you would like to meet them in person.
The US associate openings we have in law firms are in the usual areas of M&A, cap markets, FCPA / white collar litigation, finance, and project finance. The most urgent of our top tier (top 15 US or magic circle) law firm openings in Asia (among many other firm openings that we have in Asia) are as follows:
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