WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Pioneering securities class-action lawyer Melvyn Weiss agreed yesterday to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy in the Justice Department’s prosecution of the New York firm that carried his name for many years.

Weiss thus became the fourth named partner in the firm to plead guilty in the past year to participating in an $11.7 million kickback scheme government prosecutors said began in 1979 and resulted in more than $200 million in tainted legal fees in an estimated 150 cases filed by the firm.

“This kickback scheme lasted for more than 25 years and had a severely detrimental effect on the administration of justice across the nation,” said U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O’Brien.

Weiss and former partners William Lerach, David Bershad and Steven Schulman were generous contributors to Democratic candidates and causes, continuing even after 2002 when the government’s investigation of their firm became public. They made millions of dollars in contributions to federal office-holders, party organizations and political action committees like Emily’s List.

Yesterday, The Examiner again asked Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama what they plan to do with contributions they received from the firm’s disgraced partners. Neither candidate’s spokesmen responded to the newspaper’s inquiry.

Clinton received $21,970 in such contributions, making her the top congressional recipient of Milberg Weiss donations. Obama received $5,300. Of those amounts, Weiss and his spouse gave $17,574 to Clinton and $1,000 to Obama.

The Examiner previously contacted both campaigns on repeated occasions in recent weeks.

To date, neither candidate has reported to the Federal Election Commission that they have done anything other than keep the money. Presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain has received no Milberg Weiss contributions, according to FEC data.

The firm, which remains under indictment and faces trial later this year, changed its name to Milberg LLP yesterday. Milberg LLP continues to be a major player in the class-action world, securing 22 settlements in 2007 totaling $1.6 billion, the most of any firm.

qhillyer@dcexaminer.com