Introducing . . . Milberg LLP

[WSJ_law_blog]

And the last name remaining is that of a long-deceased founder.

The firm formerly known as Milberg Weiss Bershad & Shulman LLP, then Milberg Weiss Bershad LLP, then later Milberg Weiss LLP, will now be known just as Milberg LLP. According to a Milberg insider, the name change was announced at a staff meeting this morning, at which Mel Weiss gave a speech talking about the accomplishments of the firm. The audience reportedly applauded. A spokeswoman for the firm didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The WSJ reported this morning that Mel Weiss has struck a deal to agree to plead guilty in a case alleging improper kickbacks. Other former name partners David Bershad and Steven Schulman had previously pleaded guilty in the case. Famed plaintiffs lawyer Bill Lerach, who worked at the Milberg firm for years before launching his own firm in 2004, pleaded guilty last fall and was recently sentenced to two years in prison.

According to this letter written by Mel Weiss’s son, Larry Milberg, the founder of the firm, was 22 years older than Mel, and was 1936 Harvard Law School graduate. He died in 1989 at the age of 76.