Federal Judge Blasts White-Shoe Lawyers For Helping Clients Avoid Charges

A Brooklyn-based federal judge was full of ire during a sentencing last week, criticizing lawyers for helping clients avoid charges. “I’m sick and tired of lawyers from white-shoe law firms marching into my courtroom and getting a deferred-prosecution agreement for their clients,” U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis said when sentencing Samuel Mebiame in a bribery case. Mebiame, the son of the former prime minister of Gabon, was sentenced for paying bribes to help a joint venture partly owned by the hedge fund Och-Ziff Capital Management Group win mining deals in Africa. The judge was upset by the contrast of Mebiame’s treatment to that of the other participants, who he said were “out on a golf course.” “It’s time for people who are responsible for these actions to be held accountable,” Garaufis said. Och-Ziff Capital Management agreed to pay more than $400 million under the deferred prosecution agreement, and will have criminal charges dismissed if it stays out of trouble for three years. Meanwhile, Mebiame had no lawyers. “This defendant shows up at the door of the IRS without any legal representation,” Garaufis said. “Even a fare-beater on the New York City subway … gets legal representation.”