1. Dickie Scruggs’ Judicial Bribery Scandal: Richard “Dickie” Scruggs of Scruggs Law Firm in Oxford, Mississippi was one of the most successful trial lawyers in U.S. history. Scruggs was a successful plaintiffs’ attorney who amassed hundreds of millions of dollars in asbestos and tobacco litigation. Worth an estimated $1 billion, Scruggs gave back to the community. He donated to charities, Ole Miss University, and to political candidates and causes. But in a fee dispute with former partner Johnny Jones, Scruggs crossed the ethical line. He attempted to bribe a state judge Henry Lackey with $40,000 in exchange for a judicial order sending the fee dispute case, Jones v. Scruggs, to arbitration.
2. Kentucky’s Fen-Phen Lawyers: Kentucky’s Fen-Phen lawyers took nearly $94 million from their client’s settlement funds. William J. Gallion and Shirley A. Cunningham, Jr. did not tell their clients about a $200 million settlement in the Fen-Phen class action litigation. In addition, they convinced each plaintiff to accept a low value for their claim by withholding facts about the settlement and threatened imprisonment to plaintiffs who revealed their individual settlement amount to others.
3. Milberg Weiss’ Class Action Plaintiff Kickback Scandal: For over two decades,securities class action powerhouse Milberg Weiss, LLP participated in a scheme whereby the firm paid out over $11.3 million in kickbacks to clients who agreed to serve as plaintiffs in class action lawsuits. Prompting its own clients to file the first lawsuit in a class action meant that the firm would control the litigation as lead counsel, a position that guaranteed it the highest percentage of attorney fees from a settlement or judgment.
4. Scott Rothstein’s Ponzi Scheme: Unbeknownst to others in his law firm, Scott Rothstein of Rothstein Rosenfeldt & Adler (RRA) in Fort Lauderdale operated a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme. Rothstein's investment scheme involved purchasing fabricated "structured settlements," in which Rothstein sold large settlements in legal cases to wealthy investors for lump sums of cash.
5. Marc Dreier’s Ponzi Scheme: Marc Dreier was the sole equity partner of Dreier, LLP in New York. He defrauded investors of nearly $400 million in a Ponzi scheme, where he successfully convinced hedge funds to invest in a company belonging to his former client, Sheldon Solow. His former client, Sheldon Solow and members of his own law firm had no idea what Dreier was doing.