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Say sayonara to Silicon Valley's enemy No. 1

He once ranked among the most feared members of the legal profession. Now he's about to become a jailbird.

The disgraced attorney Bill Lerach on Monday was sentenced to two years in prison for his involvement in a kickback scheme involving class action lawsuits. As part of the deal, he agreed to forfeit $7.75 million in unlawful gains.

So closes the books on one of the more controversial bit players in Silicon Valley's history--at least in this incarnation. Americans love second acts, so who knows? Maybe after getting out of stir, Lerach will reinvent himself. But I'… Read more

Silicon Valley's most hated man to hang it up

I'm sure somebody out there loves William Lerach. Maybe he's got a cat or dog that likes to snuggle up on cold evenings. But this 61-year-old securities lawyer will be remembered as the lawyer Silicon Valley most detested, bar none.

Lerach became a media celebrity in the 1990s when he was filing a myriad of securities class action lawsuits. Tech companies, whose stocks were especially volatile during the go-go days during the Internet Bubble, were a favorite target.

So it was you can imagine the collective high fives going up all across the computer industry late Tuesday when … Read more

One of the lawyers Silicon Valley loves to hate

When it comes to class action shareholder lawsuits, the name Milberg Weiss & Bershad could strike fear and contempt among many Silicon Valley companies and a number of Fortune 500 players.

Today, as former partner David J. Bershad pleads guilty to a federal conspiracy charge and will pay a $250,000 fine and forfeit $7.75 million, corporate America may be feeling a bit smug.

Bershad acknowledges that "he and others agreed to conceal from judges in state and federal courts Milberg Weiss' secret payment arrangements with named plaintiffs in class actions and shareholder derivative actions," the United … Read more