Biglaw

Former Associate Gets Jail Time In Biglaw Extortion Case

White-collar crimes have consequences.

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Michael Potere

The curious case of Michael Potere has reached its conclusion — or at least the sentencing phase.

For those who haven’t been following along with the former Dentons associate’s case, buckle in — it’s a doozy. You see, Potere got fired from the mega firm, but instead of taking his three months’ severance and trying to figure out the next stage of his career, he allegedly threw it all away on a harebrained scheme to extort the partnership.

Potere received access to a partner’s email account when he was working on a case and he took that opportunity to download sensitive information about the firm. He then met with two partners and threatened to leak that info to none other than Above the Law — unless he got $210,000 and a piece of artwork.

The justification for what he attempted? “[P]eople his age were getting ‘screwed’ and that hypothetically he might have a chance to ‘screw back.'”

Though, according to the FBI, he bragged at the time he wasn’t scared of jail time for his actions against the firm, saying “people who rape other people do not get jail time so [he] is not worried about jail time for [his] actions against [the firm].”

Let’s just say U.S. District Judge John Walter feels differently.

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Potere took a plea deal to avoid facing charges that carried a penalty of up to 20 years in prison. But that doesn’t mean Judge Walter let him off easy. Though prosecutors had asked for only a three-month prison sentence, Walter handed down a five-month term, with one year of supervised release, noting that white-collar crimes should carry “meaningful punishment.” As reported by Law360:

At an hourlong sentencing hearing Monday morning, U.S. District Judge John Walter said that while Potere does have a history of anxiety and depression, his conduct appeared to be carefully thought out and stem from anger management issues. The judge also said of Potere’s 13-page letter to the court describing his state of mind at the time of the criminal acts that he found Potere’s attempts at justification “arrogant” and even delusional.

“He should’ve realized there would be consequences,” Judge Walter said.

The lesson? If you have dirt on your firm, reach out to Above the Law directly by email or by text message (646-820-8477) — we keep all sources strictly confidential — and skip the whole extortion mess.

headshotKathryn Rubino is an editor at Above the Law. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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