Melvyn Weiss, who once said the market for class action lawsuits would thrive because “greed is a growth industry”, may soon be in the hot seat himself after it was revealed that his law firm was under investigation by the US Government on suspicion of fraud, conspiracy and kickback payments.
Mr Weiss, the senior and founding partner with Milberg Weiss Bershad and Shulman, one of the world’s leading class action law firms, has been called ruthless and commanding by friends and enemies. He has drawn praise for recovering $6 billion for Holocaust victims and has been vilified by some US politicians for spawning an industry that, they say, abuses corporate law.
His early days included a stint as a US Army cook, after which he earned his law degree from New York University Law School in 1959. Seven years later he founded Milberg Weiss, which has won more than $30 billion over the years in class action lawsuits against companies such as Exxon, Oxford Healthcare and Raytheon.
Mr Weiss, 69, and his wife, Barbara, are active with their foundation at NYU Law School that helps graduates who take on lower-income public-interest jobs to pay back their student loans.
He has not lost his touch in the kitchen since his army days either — for the past 20 years his annual tradition of cooking fried matzoh for his staff has received rave reviews.