Lawyer to plead guilty

William Lerach, the notorious class-action attorney, is set to plead guilty in Los Angeles federal court on one count of conspiracy in the criminal case involving his former law firm, now called Milberg Weiss LLP. The plea agreement calls for a one- to two-year prison term and could be announced as soon as Tuesday, the WSJ is reporting. And it's binding, meaning that if the judge overseeing the case does not agree to the terms, either prosecutors or Lerach can back out of the deal. That's what he had been holding out for because it puts the sentencing out of the judge's hands. (LABO) Last year, a federal grand jury indicted Milberg Weiss and two of its name partners. According to the indictment, lawyers at the firm had paid $11.3 million in secret kickbacks to influence several individuals to be the named plaintiff in class actions that were filed. Lerach wasn't charged, but he showed up in the indictment under the alias "partner B."