Media Views of Attorneys in WorldCom Cases

Bruce Carton has an interesting post on the Securities Litigation Watch blog (here) about the different media views of attorneys in litigation related to WorldCom.  Jay Kasner of Skadden Arps was counsel to J.P. Morgan, and has been criticized for his advice to the client in settling the WorldCom securities fraud civil class action case for $630 million more than it could have been settled a year earlier.  Reid  Weingarten of Steptoe and Johnson, who was lead defense counsel for former WorldCom CEO Bernie Ebbers -- who was convicted on all counts -- is featured in a Washington Post article that is quite flattering.  Paul wonders about the different media perceptions.  Of course, Weingarten established his reputation before the Ebbers prosecution by successfully defending former Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy and former Tyco general counsel Mark Belnick.  Still, it is worthwhile to think about the vagaries of media perceptions of the lawyers in high-profile cases. (ph)