Attorney Faked Lawsuits, Forged Judges' Signatures. Suit Claims Firms 'All Too Eager to Build Their Book of Business'
Three firms are caught in the fallout, with Musick, Peeler & Garrett already settling two malpractice lawsuits for a combined $1.625 million.
October 25, 2021 at 07:23 PM
8 minute read
A veteran Los Angeles litigator is facing federal prison time after pleading guilty in a fraud and forgery scheme that ensnared three law firms in malpractice lawsuits.
The U.S. Attorney's Office's recent plea deal with Matthew Charles Elstein offers a window into an elaborate web that one lawsuit calls an indictment of the law firm hiring process and the push for so-called lateral transfers that disregards clear red flags about problem lawyers.
"In this atmosphere, law firms are all too eager to build their book of business," according to a complaint filed in 2018 against Elstein and his former employers Musick Peeler & Garrett, Selman Breitman and Tressler LLP. "They often fail to conduct the necessary due diligence to protect members of the public who justifiably rely upon the integrity of brand name law firms."
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Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
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