Samuel Fishman, an M&A specialist in Latham's
The US Attorney's Office did not identify Latham as Fishman's firm in a criminal information filed with the guilty plea, nor was the firm's name mentioned in court when Fishman entered his plea to one count of mail fraud. However, Latham in a statement acknowledged Fishman as a former partner and said his misconduct had come to light in 2005.
Prosecutors noted that Latham had reimbursed its clients hundreds of thousands of dollars that had been fraudulently charged, although the firm declined to identify the clients defrauded by Fishman.
He has previously represented clients including cinema chain AMC Entertainment and JP Morgan Partners, the private equity arm of JP Morgan Chase & Co.
Fishman, who was represented by Litman Asche & Goiella, will be sentenced on 27 June and faces up to 20 years in prison. He also agreed to forfeit $350,000 (£176,570) in ill-gotten wealth and faces likely disbarment.
A number of major firms have had to deal in recent years with fraud by partners, though most instances have resulted in disbarment or other disciplinary sanction rather than criminal prosecution.
In 2006, former Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr intellectual property partner William DiSalvatore resigned from the bar after admitting misconduct including falsifying expense reports and assigning associates to perform "pro bono" work for friends and family. He claimed more than $109,000 (£54,990) in false personal expense.
Willkie Farr & Gallagher and the former Kronish Lieb Weiner & Hellman have also terminated partners for fraudulently seeking reimbursement for personal expenses.
In most such cases, including that of Fishman, the defrauded amounts have been small compared to what the perpetrators earn as partners. Last month, Latham said it had profits per partner of $2.3m (£1.16m) in 2007.
Additional reporting by Mark Hamblett.
The New York Law Journal is a US sister title of Legal Week.
