Lawyers sue Maxwell, larger N.Y. office for Freshfields, ex-Shkreli lawyer fails to shield funds, and Bakerhostetler beats malpractice suit
Reuters Legal
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Lawyers who defended Ghislaine Maxwell said they have only been paid $143,500 out of a promised $1 million retainer. Law firm Freshfields said it signed a 180,000-square-foot lease, occupying four floors of a skyscraper in lower Manhattan. A New York state judge dismissed a legal malpractice lawsuit against BakerHostetler brought by the brother of body armor magnate David Brooks. And, the DOJ can tap into retirement accounts belonging to a convicted former lawyer for Martin Shkreli.
Ghislaine Maxwell has failed to pay some $878,000 in fees to two lawyers who defended the now-convicted British socialite against criminal charges she helped Jeffrey Epstein abuse teenage girls, the lawyers' firm said in a new lawsuit.
Maxwell, 60, was convicted in December of sex trafficking and is serving a 20-year prison sentence over her role in recruiting and grooming girls for Epstein, a financier and registered sex offender who had been known for socializing with elite U.S. politicians and businessmen.
In a lawsuit filed on Monday in a Colorado state court in Denver, the law firm Haddon, Morgan and Foreman said Maxwell's brother Kevin promised before trial to pay a $1 million retainer but paid just $143,500, "a small fraction of the amount owed."
Two of the firm's lawyers, Laura Menninger and Jeffrey Pagliuca, represented Ghislaine Maxwell throughout the case.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer said on Wednesday it has signed a lease for a larger office in New York, as many law firms reconsider their space needs due to the growth of pandemic-era remote work.
London-founded Freshfields, which has recently focused on adding lawyers in the U.S., will move from its current office in midtown Manhattan to 3 World Trade Center in early 2024. The 2,800-lawyer firm said it signed a 180,000-square-foot lease, occupying four floors of the skyscraper in lower Manhattan.
As firm leaders reconsider office space needs, other law firms are also opting to relocate rather than renew as market conditions are favorable to tenants. In the first half of 2022, relocations made up 63% of law firm lease transactions by square footage, according to a recent survey by commercial real estate brokerage Savills Inc.
Some law firms have downsized office space in major markets since the start of the pandemic, including Jenner & Block and Perkins Coie.
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A New York state judge on Wednesday dismissed a legal malpractice lawsuit against law firm BakerHostetler brought by the brother of a body armor magnate, David Brooks, who died in prison six years ago.
Supreme Court Justice Arlene Bluth in Manhattan said David Brooks' brother Jeffrey was not authorized to sue BakerHostetler and partner George Stamboulidis on behalf of his brother's estate. Jeffrey Brooks filed the lawsuit in September 2021, but only last month asked a Florida probate court to re-open his brother's estate, Bluth said.
David Brooks was sentenced to 17 years in prison following his 2010 conviction on insider trading and securities, mail and wire fraud and other charges. He died in prison in 2016 while his appeal was pending.
His brother sued BakerHostetler in 2021, claiming the firm failed to challenge a defective federal indictment. The indictment came down after the grand jury's 18-month term had expired, the lawsuit said.
The U.S. Justice Department can tap into retirement accounts belonging to a convicted former lawyer for ex-pharma executive Martin Shkreli to help pay $10.4 million in restitution to victims of their fraud scheme, a U.S. appeals court ruled Wednesday.
Prosecutors have authority under the federal Mandatory Victims Restitution Act to pursue garnishment of accounts belonging to the lawyer, Evan Greebel, who was convicted in 2017 on charges that included conspiracy to commit securities fraud, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled.
Greebel, a former partner at law firm Katten Muchin Rosenman, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for helping Shkreli bilk investors at his drug company Retrophin Inc. Shkreli was sentenced to seven years on related charges. Both men have been released from custody.
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