See no Milberg Weiss, hear no Milberg Weiss...

By Mark Tapscott

Edward Labaton of Labaton Sucharow & Rudolf, a prominent New York class action law firm, said he has been president of the Institute of Law and Economic Policy since its inception in 1996.

Labaton declined to be interviewed for this article but responded via email to a few questions from The Examiner.

He said "Bill Lerach and Milberg Weiss have had no affiliation with ILEP for quite some time." He also claimed that Lerach "did not participate in any program planning," and that,of the many speakers at ILEP during its 13 years, only "a handful have been from the Milberg Weiss firm."

But the available facts suggest a far closer relationship between ILEP and Milberg Weiss and Bill Lerach:

From 1997 to 2004, ILEP's office address - 1845 Walnut Street in Philadelphia - was the same as that listed for the Philadelphia office of Milberg Weiss. After 2004, when Bill Lerach split from Milberg Weiss and formed a new firm, the ILEP address was the same as that of Lerach Coughlin's office in Philadelphia.
Bill Lerach was listed as ILEP's sole director from 2001 to 2005 on the group's IRS Form 990 tax returns to the federal government.
The ILEP office shared telephone and fax numbers with Lerach Coughlin from 2004 until last year.
ILEP founder and long-time executive vice president Sandra Stein and ILEP's special counsel, Laura Stein, were repeatedly listed on ILEP conference programs and other literature as "associates" and "of counsel" with Milberg Weiss and then Lerach Coughlin.
Laura Stein often provided closing remarks at ILEP's annual conferences, while Sandra Stein filled many roles, including introducing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid as a luncheon speaker at the group's 2005 conference in Las Vegas.
Of 14 lawyers currently listed as officers on ILEP's web site, four were with Lerach Coughlin and continue with Coughlin Stoia, which became its name when William Lerach left the firm in 2007 following his felony pleading.

Mark Tapscott is the editorial page editor of The Washington Examiner.

See no Milberg Weiss, hear no Milberg Weiss...

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