Lerach
merging with firm in N.Y.
Lerach Coughlin Stoia & Robbins said it would be joined Aug. 1 by the
15-attorney firm Geller Rudman of New York and would
be known as Lerach Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins.
|
William Lerach |
The Lerach firm completed
a split from New York-based Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach on May 1.
One of the reasons
Milberg Weiss gave for the breakup was that the size of the firm – 225
attorneys – was unm
"It probably was
never about the size of the firm," said
Lerach is known in the
legal industry for an intense and brash style, and his drive was a big factor
in establishing Milberg Weiss as the leading securities litigation firm in the
country.
Securities Class Action
Services recently reported that the Milberg Weiss and Lerach Coughlin firms
recovered more than $2 billion for defrauded investors last year and more than
$40 billion over the past 25 years.
The firms have been
involved in many of the highest-profile securities class action suits in the
country, including those involving Enron, HealthSouth,
Qwest, Vivendi, Dynegy,
Cisco and AT&T.
Lerach said when the
decision was made to split up Milberg Weiss, he was certain that the San
Diego-based firm would re-establish a presence in
"We knew when we
started the restructuring that we were going to want a national presence and a
national network," Lerach said. "We think that adding Geller Rudman is the perfect cultural fit for us."
In addition to
Lerach expressed concern
that the firm grow wisely.
"Those who can't
remember the past are doomed to repeat it," he said. "Inevitably a
business as successful as ours is going to grow. We hope that we can keep that
growth under control."
Lerach moved to
The merger reunites
Lerach with Sam Rudman, one of the principals in
Geller Rudman and a former member of the Milberg
Weiss firm. Rudman left Milberg Weiss in February
2003.
"I'm delighted to be
back with Sam," Lerach said. "He was one of the Milberg Weiss
partners that I worked well with."
