Corporate Lawsuit King is Going to Jail

Bill Lerach made tens of millions of dollars suing companies whose stock fell, simply because the stock fell. He would sue the company on behalf of stockholders and pocket 30% of the judgement. Back in 1996 Wired called him a "Bloodsucking scumbag."

Lerach terrorized and sued high tech companies to the point that they raised $15MM to defend suits against him. Every person who thinks that tech companies devoting such capital is a poor investment can take solace in the fact that he is going to jail for two years.

Authorities said Mr. Lerach's former firm, now known as Milberg Weiss, made an estimated $250 million over two decades by filing legal actions on behalf of professional plaintiffs who received kickbacks...

Prosecutors said the firm, previously known as Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman, paid $11.3 million in kickbacks to people who became plaintiffs in lawsuits targeting companies such as AT&T, Lucent, WorldCom, Microsoft and Prudential Insurance. Seven people, including Mr. Lerach and two other former partners, have pleaded guilty in the case.