Transaction Gone Bad: A Deal Lawyer Gets Sentenced To Prison
This former Biglaw counsel is going to prison, although not for a huge amount of time (as prison sentences go).
Last year, transactional lawyer Harvey Newkirk sued his former firm, Bryan Cave, claiming that it hung him out to dry when federal prosecutors pursued him on criminal charges arising out of a deal he handled while at the firm. Newkirk sought at least $2.5 million from Bryan Cave, to cover legal fees relating to an alleged fraudulent scheme to buy Maxim magazine that he worked on while in the firm’s employ.
Now Newkirk has even more cause for complaint against Bryan Cave. As reported by Law360, Judge Jed S. Rakoff just sentenced Newkirk to a six-month prison term and three years of supervised release. He must also pay $3.1 million in restitution, according to Reuters. Newkirk got convicted by a jury of wire fraud back in December.
In the grand scheme of things, six months isn’t a long time, at least as far as federal prison sentences go. The real problem for Harvey Newkirk is what his post-prison life might look like, as explained by Bloomberg:
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Lawyers for Newkirk, who earned degrees from two Ivy League universities [Cornell for college and Columbia for law school] and memberships in elite institutions, told Rakoff that their client is disgraced and struggling financially.
He and his wife were once members of the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem whose members are “a historical who’s who of the elite, black community,” a supporter wrote in a letter to the judge on Newkirk’s behalf. “The community is small, so people gossip, speculate and shun.”
Surprisingly small and gossipy? The black community sounds a lot like… Biglaw.
BREAKING: Judge Rakoff Hits Ex-Bryan Cave Atty With 6-Month Fraud Sentence [Law360]
Ex-Lawyer Who Lied to Lenders in Maxim Deal Gets Six Months [Bloomberg]
N.Y. lawyer gets six months in prison for Maxim magazine deal fraud [Reuters]
Earlier: Ex-Biglaw Attorney Files Lawsuit Claiming His Former Firm Hung Him Out To Dry
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David Lat is the founder and managing editor of Above the Law and the author of Supreme Ambitions: A Novel. You can connect with David on Twitter (@DavidLat), LinkedIn, and Facebook, and you can reach him by email at [email protected].
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