David Bershad of Milberg Weiss & Bershad to Plead Guilty

Article on cnnmoney.com -- Defendant to plead guilty today in Milberg case, by Roger Parloff.  Here's an excerpt:

Defendant David J. Bershad, 67, a named partner at the indicted class-action law firm now known as Milberg Weiss & Bershad, is expected to plead guilty to conspiracy to obstruct justice at 2 p.m. PT today in Los Angeles federal court.

By pleading guilty to non-fraud counts, Bershad will limit his sentencing exposure under the guidelines. By cooperating with the government, as he is also understood to be doing, he will be eligible for a “downward departure” from those guideline recommendations.

According to a person familiar with the situation, Bershad’s plea will relate to the core allegations of the indictment: misleading judges into believing that plaintiffs were being paid by Milberg Weiss, when in fact the firm was paying them. A “factual statement” accompanying the plea is also expected to unveil new details of the government’s allegations against the still unindicted “Partner A” and “Partner B,” who are widely assumed to be, respectively, name partner Melvyn Weiss and former name partner William Lerach. Lerach and the San Diego-based west coast office of Milberg Weiss split away from Milberg Weiss in 2004 to found Lerach Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins.

BGS