New York Comptroller Alan Hevesi has again (see May 14) marched the state into a plaintiff’s role in securities litigation, this time against Merck, and once more he has selected as counsel a law firm that was a major contributor to his campaign. “The fees in these class-action cases are so outsized that winning the chance to represent the New York State pension fund in a case like this is like winning the lottery,” editorially observes the New York Sun. The paper “called Arthur Abbey, a partner at Abbey Gardy who wrote a $44,000 check to Mr. Hevesi’s campaign in March of 2002. Asked how his firm was chosen to represent Mr. Hevesi in the Merck case, Mr. Abbey told us, ‘I can’t tell you…It’s like how you come to get a gift. It was his decision.'” (“The Gift That Keeps on Giving” (editorial), New York Sun, Dec. 7). More: Apr. 14.
Hevesi’s gift
New York Comptroller Alan Hevesi has again (see May 14) marched the state into a plaintiff’s role in securities litigation, this time against Merck, and once more he has selected as counsel a law firm that was a major contributor to his campaign. “The fees in these class-action cases are so outsized that winning the […]
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