Another King of Torts Falls

Richard "Dickie" Scruggs, the Mississippi tort lawyer who made nearly $1 billion in legal fees in the landmark global settlement with the nation's tobacco companies in 1998, made a surprise guilty plea this morning to a charge of conspiracy in federal court in Oxford, Mississippi.

The plea came during a hearing on pretrial matters, heading toward a trial that was set to begin March 31.

Mr. Scruggs, the brother-in-law of Mississippi Sen. Trent Lott, was charged with conspiring to bribe Judge Henry Lackey, a state court judge in Calhoun City. Scruggs was seeking to ensure a favorable ruling in a dispute over $26.5 million in legal fees from a mass settlement of cases related to Hurricane Katrina.

Judge Lackey agreed to participate in a sting by federal authorities. He let the F.B.I. record a conversation in which he asked Timothy Balducci, Scruggs' emissary, for $40,000 in a exchange for the ruling.

On the tape, according to transcripts filed in court, Balducci assured the judge, "There ain't another soul in the world that knows."

Prosecutors said they would recommend five years in prison for Scruggs, 61, and two and a half years in prison for Backstrom, according to a report from the Associated Press. The penalties significantly lower than what they would have faced had they gone to trial.

Stephen Gillers, an ethics professor at New York University School of Law, said Scruggs' downfall reminded him of Bill Lerach's fall. Lerach, perhaps the most aggressive plaintiffs lawyer in class-action securities lawsuits, pleaded guilty to federal charges last fall and was sentenced to two years in prison in February.

"These are enormously wealthy men who pleaded guilty to crimes directly related to their law practice," Gillers said.

Until today, Scruggs appeared to be eager to fight the charges. He hired John Keker, one of the best white-collar crime lawyers in the country, to defend him. Keker represented Enron's disgraced finance chief Andrew Fastow and vindicated CSFB investment banker Frank Quattrone.

As a result of the guilty plea, Scruggs will be disbarred automatically. State bar rules provide that any conviction of a felony, apart from manslaughter, result in the striking of the lawyer's name.

New York also provides for automatic disbarment upon conviction of a felony — a uncomfortable fact for another wealthy, high-profile lawyer in hot water with federal prosecutors: Governor Eliot Spitzer of New York.

News reports are speculating on the charges that might be brought against Spitzer, the Harvard Law School educated lawyer who agreed to resign on Monday after being linked to a prostitution ring.

"It's not a good day for lawyers," Gillers said. "Not a good week."

by Karen Donovan