Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn sentenced former Baker & McKenzie securities lawyer Martin Weisberg to two years in prison yesterday after he pleaded guilty to accepting kickbacks from former corporate clients.

Prosecutors alleged Weisberg received the kickbacks in an attempt to illegally profit from stock transactions involving two public companies, or private investment in public equity. The alleged scheme took place between 2001 and 2005, while Weisberg was a lawyer at the now-defunct firm Jenkins & Gilchrist. He joined Baker in 2005.

Prosecutors further claimed Weisberg used $1.3 million from a client's escrow account for personal and business expenses without that client's knowledge. This theft occurred between 2006 and 2007, after Weisberg had resigned from Baker.

Weisberg pleaded guilty to money laundering and conspiracy to commit fraud last year before jury selection began in his case. Elkan Abramowitz, a lawyer for Weisberg, said they do not plan to appeal the sentence.

For more on the Weisberg sentence, read The Wall Street Journal's roundup.

InsideCounsel also has more on the case as well:

And for more people who were caught by the law, check out these InsideCounsel stories: