Warning: file_put_contents(/home/customer/www/dailylegalbriefing.com/public_html/wp-content/uploads/wpo/images/wpo_logo_small.png.webp): failed to open stream: Disk quota exceeded in /home/customer/www/dailylegalbriefing.com/public_html/wp-content/plugins/wp-optimize/vendor/rosell-dk/webp-convert/src/Convert/Converters/Gd.php on line 428
Ex-LeClairRyan general counsel gets prison time, while firm insurer agrees to pay $10M to bankruptcy trustee – Breaking Legal News & Current Law Headlines | Daily Legal Briefing
Warning: unlink(/tmp/jnewslibrary-uRM4fk.tmp): No such file or directory in /home/customer/www/dailylegalbriefing.com/public_html/wp-admin/includes/class-wp-filesystem-ftpext.php on line 142
Breaking Legal News & Current Law Headlines | Daily Legal Briefing
  • Home
  • Hot Topics
  • Breaking
  • Business
  • Big Law
  • Small Law
  • Law School
  • Legal Tech
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
Breaking Legal News & Current Law Headlines | Daily Legal Briefing
No Result
View All Result
Home Hot Topics

Ex-LeClairRyan general counsel gets prison time, while firm insurer agrees to pay $10M to bankruptcy trustee

Daily Legal Briefing by Daily Legal Briefing
November 23, 2021
in Hot Topics
0
Ex-LeClairRyan general counsel gets prison time, while firm insurer agrees to pay $10M to bankruptcy trustee
4
SHARES
33
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


  1. Home
  2. Daily News
  3. Ex-LeClairRyan general counsel gets prison…

Law Firms

Ex-LeClairRyan general counsel gets prison time, while firm insurer agrees to pay $10M to bankruptcy trustee

By Debra Cassens Weiss

November 23, 2021, 10:02 am CST

bankruptcy petition

Image from Shutterstock.

The former general counsel of the defunct law firm LeClairRyan was sentenced to 44 months in prison in Richmond, Virginia, on Monday for lying to the U.S. Trustee Program while trying to thwart an investigation into his embezzlement of more than $4 million.

Disbarred Richmond, Virginia, lawyer Bruce Matson, 64, was sentenced following his guilty plea to obstructing an official proceeding, report Law360 and the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Matson misappropriated about $800,000 between 2015 and 2018 while serving as the court-appointed trustee in the bankruptcy of LandAmerica Financial Group Inc., according to a press release by the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. He also manipulated the budget for the post-bankruptcy wind-down to allow himself to pay $3.2 million in bonuses to himself and others, prosecutors say.

The investigation into the misconduct also found that Matson embezzled $23,000 in 2016 from the estate of Forefront Capital, a defunct futures broker for which Matson was a receiver and a debtor-designee, prosecutors say.

Matson has already made restitution.

U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney Jr. of the Eastern District of Virginia said during the sentencing he read several letters telling of Matson’s good work for his church and community and his praiseworthy family and professional life, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

But the more than $4 million stolen was “a theft done by an officer of the court while acting as an officer of the court,” Gibney said. “People who steal need to take a lesson from this case.”

The sentencing happened days after LeClairRyan’s management liability insurer, the Columbia Casualty Co., agreed during a settlement conference to pay $9.475 million to settle claims by the bankruptcy trustee covered by the policy, as well as $525,000 to settle claim expenses.

Chapter 7 trustee Lynn Tavenner filed a motion Nov. 19 to approve the bankruptcy settlement.

The settlement resolves claims of conspiracy, breach of fiduciary duty and trade secrets against former high-level figures at LeClairRyan, according to Law.com. The settlement leaves outstanding “garden variety” bankruptcy claims against the defendants and claims against legal services provider UnitedLex, the article reports.

Tavenner had previously alleged that LeClairRyan’s operations had aspects of a Ponzi scheme.

“LeClairRyan funded payments to legacy shareholders with capital contributions from new lateral hires, even though the firm was insolvent at the time and slowly falling to its death. For those left unpaid when the music stopped, it was no different than a ‘money in, money out’ con game,” Tavenner wrote.

Tavenner has also alleged that LeClairRyan’s contract with UnitedLex “served to plunge LeClairRyan further into insolvency.”





Click to Read Original Article

Previous Post

30% of these lawyers would like to work fewer hours; those most dissatisfied are younger and female

Next Post

Cravath is first to announce year-end associate bonuses, with more money for every class year

Daily Legal Briefing

Daily Legal Briefing

Related Posts

Judge imposes default judgment against former Littler Mendelson client for ‘subversive approach to discovery’
Hot Topics

5th Circuit tells lawyer it is ‘often advisable to read the court’s orders,’ upholds $1,250 sanction

by Daily Legal Briefing
April 12, 2022
Law firm’s managing partner had a ‘fixation’ with employee surveillance, wiretap suit says
Hot Topics

Law firm’s managing partner had a ‘fixation’ with employee surveillance, wiretap suit says

by Daily Legal Briefing
April 12, 2022
Law school applicants are down, for now, for the first time since 2018
Hot Topics

Following a boost in 2021, national average score for February 2022 MBE drops

by Daily Legal Briefing
April 12, 2022
Google violated its ‘don’t be evil’ code when it fired 3 outspoken employees abiding by mandate, suit says
Hot Topics

Google’s ‘privileged’ email labeling, said to prevent lawsuit disclosure, was ‘eyebrow raising,’ judge says

by Daily Legal Briefing
April 11, 2022
New law allows this state’s judges to personally solicit campaign donations; ethics opinion adds wrinkle
Hot Topics

New law allows this state’s judges to personally solicit campaign donations; ethics opinion adds wrinkle

by Daily Legal Briefing
April 11, 2022
Next Post
Cravath is first to announce year-end associate bonuses, with more money for every class year

Cravath is first to announce year-end associate bonuses, with more money for every class year

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Premium Content

LawNext: Trellis Founder Nicole Clark Says Court Data is a Litigator’s Secret Weapon

LawNext: Trellis Founder Nicole Clark Says Court Data is a Litigator’s Secret Weapon

January 11, 2022
What All Lawyers Need To Know About Cannabis

What All Lawyers Need To Know About Cannabis

February 16, 2022
Biglaw Firm To Pick Up The Tab For Your Next Vacay

Biglaw Firm To Pick Up The Tab For Your Next Vacay

January 25, 2022

Browse by Category

  • Big Law
  • Breaking
  • Business
  • Hot Topics
  • Law School
  • Legal Tech
  • Small Law

About US

Breaking Legal News & Current Law Headlines | Daily Legal Briefing.
Online coverage of breaking legal news and current law headlines from around the US. Top stories, videos, insight, and in-depth analysis.

Categories

  • Big Law
  • Breaking
  • Business
  • Hot Topics
  • Law School
  • Legal Tech
  • Small Law

Recent Updates

  • With Layoffs Lurking, Does Biglaw Pass The Vibe Check?
  • A Law Firm That’s A ‘Big Happy Family’ Is A Red Flag
  • Need To Go To Trial? The Best Trial Practices Out There

© 2021 Daily Legal Briefing | Breaking Legal News & Current Law Headlines

No Result
View All Result
  • Contact Us
  • Home

© 2021 Daily Legal Briefing | Breaking Legal News & Current Law Headlines

Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?

Warning: unlink(/tmp/jnewsfirstload-WlCfXY.tmp): No such file or directory in /home/customer/www/dailylegalbriefing.com/public_html/wp-admin/includes/class-wp-filesystem-ftpext.php on line 142