William Lerach (Getty)

UPDATED: A federal judge on Monday denied former securities attorney William Lerach’s request that he be allowed to teach a law school course as part of his community service.

“The current proposal and the community service that Lerach has performed to date [are not] what I had envisioned,” U.S. District Court Judge John Walter said according to the National Law Journal.

Original post:

Ex-securities attorney William Lerach, once known for his lucrative “strike suits” against major corporations, now hopes a court will approve his wish to teach a law school class as part of his required community service.

But whether or not a district judge allows the class, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Central District of California said Monday that only time spent on self-deprecation and warning students about his own ethical missteps should count toward service.

Lerach, a former star attorney at the firm Milberg Weiss LLP, built a reputation among Fortune 500 companies for strategically bringing class action lawsuits that forced big-time companies into pricey settlements rather than face the prospect of a more expensive jury verdict later.

But in 2007, he pleaded guilty to felony charges of conspiring to obstruct justice and making false statements to federal judges about a kickback investigation involving the firm. He served two years in prison and was released in March 2010.

The ex-attorney now wants to teach a class as part of the 1000 hours of community service required by his plea agreement at the University of California Irvine Law School titled: “Regulation of Free Market Capitalism — Are We Failing.”

In court documents, Lerach said the course, to begin in January 2011,“would focus on the financial markets and public corporations, but would also touch on related regulatory failures in the anti-trust, consumer, and labor areas. The course would combine economic and political history, with legislative action and judicial decisions … [and] would include a strong ethical component.”

Lerach would receive a $3000 stipend for teaching the class but has promised to donate it back to the university, according the filing.

A probation office rejected the class, saying that the university was not a community organization like a church or soup kitchen.

Lerach now wants U.S. District Court Judge John Walter to overturn that decision and OK the college course.

“The proposed community service at UCI Law School, which will serve as a cautionary tale to other lawyers, is the very community service that the government urged probation and the court to take into consideration when assessing appropriate community service for Mr. Lerach,” wrote Michael Lipman, Lerach’s attorney, in a court filing.

U.S. Attorney André Birotte Jr. and Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Dugdale wrote Walter Monday to weigh in. They did not take a stand on whether or not the judge should allow Lerach to teach the class, but said if the court decides Lerach can receive community service credit, only time spent on ethics and Lerach’s missteps should count.

“The government respectfully submits that the numbers of hours of community service for which defendant receives credit should correlate directly to the number of hours that defendant devotes to lecturing the law students on the ‘mistakes that he made’ and ‘the temptations and difficult decisions they will face in the legal and financial worlds,’ and ‘caution[ing] the students to practice law ethically and within the strictures of the law, and … on the steps they might take to avoid his fate,’” prosecutors wrote.

Politico’s Under the Radar blog first reported on the dispute.

Andre Birotte Jr. (gov)

Andre Birotte Jr. was sworn in as the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Thursday morning during a private ceremony, according to a news release.

Birotte, the former inspector general of the Los Angeles Police Department, replaced Thomas P. O’Brien, who resigned Sept. 1, 2009, to join the white-collar criminal defense practice in the Los Angeles offices of the Paul Hastings law firm. The Los Angeles-based district’s most recent acting U.S. Attorney wass George S. Cardona.

U.S. District Judge Terry J. Hatter Jr. administered the oath in his Los Angeles courtroom.

After the ceremony, Birotte said, “It is my great pleasure to be leading what is widely considered to be one of the nation’s premier public law firms,” adding, “This United States Attorney’s Office has a long tradition of handling some of the most significant cases in the nation, and my goal is to further enhance that tradition.”

The Los Angeles-based U.S. Attorney’s office is the largest outside of the District of Columbia.

The Senate confirmed three U.S. Attorneys tonight by unanimous consent, according to a Senate spokesperson.

They are:

Andre Birotte Jr. (Gov)

– Andre Birotte Jr. (Central District of California): The Los Angeles Police Commission’s inspector general succeeds Thomas P. O’Brien, who stepped down as U.S. Attorney last September. Birotte was nominated on Dec. 23. Read more about him here.

Ron Machen (Wilmer Hale)

– Richard Hartunian (Northern District of New York): The interim U.S. Attorney for the district is the first presidentially appointed U.S. Attorney to lead the office since Glenn T. Suddaby resigned in 2008. Hartunian also was tapped on Dec. 23. Read more about him here.

– Ron Machen (District of Columbia): The partner at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr succeeds Jeffrey A. Taylor, who stepped down as U.S. Attorney last May. Machen was nominated on Dec. 23. Read more about him here.

The Senate has now confirmed 34 U.S. Attorneys. The Senate Judiciary Committee has yet to schedule votes another 12 would-be U.S. Attorneys.

Richard Shelby (Getty Images)

Republican Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama has withdrawn most of his “holds” on presidential nominees, including President Obama’s picks for key Justice Department posts.

Shelby’s office announced late last night that the senator would drop his “blanket hold” on more than 70 nominees pending on the Senate Executive Calendar. A hold is when a senator — often anonymously — lets it be known he would oppose a unanimous consent request to bring a particular bill or nomination to the Senate floor. Without unanimous consent, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) would have to make a debatable motion to bring the matter to the floor, thus raising the possibility of a filibuster. Senate leaders usually do not even begin that process, recognizing it would be very time-consuming.

The DOJ nominees who were caught up in Shelby’s hold were:

• Mary L. Smith, to be Assistant Attorney General for the Tax Division. She was reported out of committee last Thursday.

• Christopher Schroeder, to be Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy. He also was reported out of committee on Thursday.

• John Laub, to be director of the National Institute of Justice. He was reported out of committee on Dec. 3.

• Susan Carbon, to be director of the Office on Violence Against Women. She was reported out of committee on Dec. 3.

• Richard Hartunian, to be U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York. He was reported out of committee on Jan. 28.

• Andre Birotte Jr., to be U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California. He was reported out of committee on Jan. 28.

• Ron Machen, to be U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. He was reported out of committee on Jan. 28.

The Alabama senator had held up the more than 70 nominees since Thursday over concerns he has about a tanker contract that could bring 1,500 jobs to Mobile, Ala., and over funds he is requesting to build an FBI counterterrorism center in his state. Northrop Grumman is vying to win the tanker contract, and if successful, would assemble the planes in Mobile.

A spokesman for Shelby said the Republican had “accomplished” his goal by employing the “blanket hold,” according to Politico.

“The purpose of placing numerous holds was to get the White House’s attention on two issues that are critical to our national security – the Air Force’s aerial refueling tanker acquisition and the FBI’s Terrorist Device Analytical Center (TEDAC). With that accomplished, Sen. Shelby has decided to release his holds on all but a few nominees directly related to the Air Force tanker acquisition until the new Request for Proposal is issued,”  Shelby aide Jonathan Graffeo said in a statement, according to Politico.

Shelby still has holds on the nominations of Terry Yonkers, assistant secretary of the Air Force; Frank Kendall, principal deputy undersecretary of Defense for acquisition, technology, and logistics; and Erin Conaton, undersecretary of the Air Force, Politico said.

Democrats and White House press secretary Robert Gibbs had sharply criticized Shelby for the rare move to hold up all of Obama’s nominees who were waiting for votes in the full Senate. Last week, Gibbs said there likely wouldn’t be a “greater example of silliness throughout the entire year of 2010.”

Richard Shelby (Getty Images)

Seven Justice Department nominees that have been reported out the Senate Judiciary Committee might not receive votes on the Senate floor anytime soon thanks to Republican Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama.

Last night Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said that Shelby had placed a “blanket hold” on all nominations pending on the Senate Executive Calendar, including two Assistant Attorneys General nominees, two would-be directors of DOJ offices and three prospective U.S. Attorneys.

Those nominees are:

• Mary L. Smith, Assistant Attorney General for the Tax Division. She was reported out of committee yesterday.

• Christopher Schroeder, Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy. He also was reported out of committee yesterday.

• John Laub, Director of the National Institute of Justice. He was reported out of committee on Dec. 3.

• Susan Carbon, Director of the Office on Violence Against Women. She was reported out of committee on Dec. 3.

• Richard Hartunian, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York. He was reported out of committee on Jan. 28.

• Andre Birotte Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California. He was reported out of committee on Jan. 28.

• Ron Machen, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. He was reported out of committee on Jan. 28.

But the Republican’s beef isn’t with the nominees.

The Alabama senator is holding up the nominees over concerns he has about a tanker contract that could bring 1,500 jobs to Mobile, Ala., and over funds he is requesting to build an FBI counterterrorism center in his state, according to The Caucus blog on The New York Times Web site. Northrop Grumman is vying to win the tanker contract, and if successful, would assemble the plans in Mobile.

“Senator Shelby has placed holds on several pending nominees due to unaddressed national security concerns,” Shelby spokesperson Jonathan Graffeo said in a statement, according to The Caucus. “Among his concerns is that nearly 10 years after the U.S. Air Force announced plans to replace the aging tanker fleet, we still do not have a transparent and fair acquisition process to move forward. The Department of Defense must recognize that the draft Request for Proposal needs to be significantly and substantively changed.”

He added: “Senator Shelby is also deeply concerned that the administration will not release the funds already appropriated to the FBI to build the Terrorist Explosives Devices Analytical Center. This decision impedes the U.S. military, the intelligence community, and federal law enforcement personnel in their missions to exploit and analyze intelligence information critical to fighting terrorism and ensuring American security worldwide.”

Shelby would be willing to speak with the Obama administration about his concerns at any time, according to the spokesman.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs condemned Shelby for the rare decision to hold up all of Obama’s nominees who are waiting for votes in the full Senate.

“I guess if you needed one example of what’s wrong with this town, it might be that one senator can hold up 70 qualified individuals to make government work better because he didn’t get his earmarks,” Gibbs told reporters today, according to the blog. “If that’s not the poster child for how this town needs to change the way it works, I fear there won’t be a greater example of silliness throughout the entire year of 2010.”

The Democratic National Committee also posted a video on YouTube yesterday that alleges Shelby’s holds are threatening national security.

The senator’s holds don’t make it impossible for the Senate to consider nominees. Under normal circumstances, Senate leaders honor an individual senator’s hold. But if Majority Leader Reid wants to bring a nomination to the Senate floor, he could file a cloture petition. Cutting off debate on a nomination is a time-consuming process for the Senate and would be difficult for the Democratic majority with the addition of Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) to the Senate. Brown became the 41st member of the Republican Senate caucus yesterday, ending the Democrats’ filibuster-proof majority.

Reid said on the Senate floor yesterday that the president might have to start considering recess appointments, which wouldn’t require confirmation.

“The president will look at all his options,” Gibbs said, according to The Caucus.

The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approved three U.S. Attorney nominees during its business meeting today.

They are:

Andre Birotte Jr. (Gov)

– Andre Birotte Jr. (Central District of California): The Los Angeles Police Commission’s inspector general would succeed Thomas P. O’Brien, who stepped down as U.S. Attorney last September. Birotte was nominated on Dec. 23. Read more about him here.

Ron Machen (Wilmer Hale)

– Richard Hartunian (Northern District of New York): The interim U.S. Attorney for the district would be the first presidentially appointed U.S. Attorney to lead the office since Glenn T. Suddaby resigned in 2008. Hartunian also was tapped on Dec. 23. Read more about him here.

– Ron Machen (District of Columbia): The partner at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr would succeed Jeffrey A. Taylor, who stepped down as U.S. Attorney last May. Machen was nominated on Dec. 23. Read more about him here.

The panel has now approved 34 U.S. Attorney nominees, 31 of whom have already won Senate confirmation. The committee has yet to schedule votes for another 12 would-be U.S. Attorneys.

The committee also postponed — as expected — consideration of Justice Department nominees Dawn Johnsen (to head the Office of Legal Counsel), Mary L. Smith (to lead the Tax Division) and Christopher Schroeder (to head the Office of Legal Policy). Committee rules allow senators to delay a vote on a nominee for a week.

The Senate Judiciary Committee has added six nominations to the agenda for its Thursday business meeting — three U.S. Attorney nominees and three controversial figures nominated to be Assistant Attorneys General.

Andre Birotte Jr. (gov)

Ron Machen (Wilmer Hale)

The three U.S. Attorney nominees are Andre Birotte Jr. (Central District of California), Richard Hartunian (Northern District of New York) and Ronald Machen (District of Columbia). All three were nominated Dec. 23. Read more about Birotte here. Read more about Hartunian here. Read more about Machen here.

The agenda also includes three high ranking Justice Department appointees whose nominations were not acted on by the Senate last year and whose nominations were returned to the White House at the end of last year’s session — Mary L. Smith to head the Justice Department’s Tax Division, Christopher Schroeder to head the Office of Legal Policy and Dawn Johnsen, to head the Office of Legal Counsel. President Obama re-nominated the three earlier this month.

Dawn Johnsen (Indiana University)

Although the names of Smith, Schroeder and Johnsen were placed on this week’s agenda, committee Republicans have the right to delay action for a week.

The panel’s top Republican, Jeff Sessions of Alabama, has formally asked committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) to schedule another hearing on the Johnsen nomination. Leahy sent a letter to Sessions regarding the Republican’s request, a Senate aide told Main Justice. It is unclear what the letter said.

Sessions also said Republicans would likely support additional hearings on Smith and Schroeder as well, although he has not formally made such a request.

Andrew Ramonas contributed to this report.

This post has been updated from an earlier version.

The Senate Judiciary Committee has released questionnaires for an additional five U.S. Attorney nominees. Information from their Office of Government Ethics disclosures will be added as it becomes available.

• Sally Quillian Yates, Northern District of Georgia
• Anne M. Tompkins, Western District of North Carolina
• William J. Hochul, Jr., Western District of New York
• Andre Birotte Jr., Central District of California
• William N. Nettles, District of South Carolina

Andre Birotte Jr. (gov)

Andre Birotte, Jr. (Tufts University, Pepperdine University School of Law) has been nominated to replace Thomas P. O’Brien as the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California. O’Brien resigned Sept. 1, 2009, to join the white-collar criminal defense practice in the Los Angeles offices of the Paul Hastings law firm. The Los Angeles-based district’s acting U.S. Attorney is George S. Cardona.

Birotte’s vitals:

• Born in Newark, N.J., in 1966.
• Has been the Los Angeles Police Commission’s inspector general since May 2003.
• Served as the the police commission’s acting inspector general from December 2002 to May 2003.
• Was an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California’s Gould School of Law from August 2003 to May 2004.
• Worked as the Los Angeles police commission’s assistant inspector general from April 2001 to November 2002.
• Was an associate at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges in Los Angeles from November 1999 to April 2001.
• Served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles from January 1995 to August 1999.
• Worked as a Los Angeles County deputy public defender from December 1991 to December 1994.
• Was a volunteer law clerk in the U.S. Attorney’s office in Los Angeles from January 1991 to April 1991.
• Worked as a legal intern in the San Diego County public defender’s office from May 1990 to August 1990.
• Was a law clerk at Kohrs & Fiske in Santa Monica, Calif., during the summer of 1989.
• Worked as a law clerk at Bross, Strickland, Cary & Grossman in Newark, N.J., from July 1987 to July 1988.
• Received the Wind Beneath My Wings Award from the National Association of Black Law Enforcement Executives in 2008.
• Has tried approximately 40 criminal jury trials. Of those, he was sole counsel in 35 and co-counsel in five. He also tried one civil jury trial as co-counsel.

Click here for his full Senate Judiciary Committee questionnaire.

On his Office of Government Ethics disclosure, Birotte reports earning $330,000 from his inspector general job. Also noted is $2,200 he earned from Train West Hollywood for work as a personal fitness trainer. Check out his trainer profile page.

UPDATE: On his Senate Judiciary financial disclosure, Birotte reported assets valued at $1 million, mostly from $750,000 in real estate. He reported liabilities of $594,000. His net worth is $407,100.

Ron Machen (Wilmer Hale)

President Barack Obama on Wednesday sent seven U.S. Attorneys nominations to the Senate.

The year-end cluster of nominations brings the number of U.S. Attorney nominations Obama has made this year to 42.

In comparison, President George W. Bush had nominated more than 60 U.S. Attorneys and President Bill Clinton more than 70 U.S. Attorneys by this time in their first terms.

Here are the nominations, from the White House news release:

André Birotte Jr.: Nominee for the Central District of California

Birotte works for the Los Angeles Police Commission, where he has been Inspector General since 2003 and served as an Assistant Inspector General from 2001 to 2003.  From 1995 to 1999, Birotte served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Central District of California.   He started his legal career as a Deputy Public Defender in the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office, serving from 1991 to 1995.  Birotte graduated from Tufts University in 1987 and Pepperdine University School of Law 1991.

David A. Capp: Nominee for the Northern District of Indiana

Capp has been an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana for 24 years and has served as Interim United States Attorney since 2007.   He previously served as interim United States Attorney in 1993 and from 1999 to 2001.  Prior to his federal service, he worked as an associate at Cohen and Thiros from 1977 to 1985, becoming a partner in 1984.  Capp graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1972 and the Valparaiso University School of Law in 1977.

Richard S. Hartunian: Nominee for the Northern District of New York

Hartunian has been an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York since 1997.  From 1990 to 1997, Hartunian worked both as an Assistant District Attorney for the Office of the District Attorney in Albany County, N.Y., and as a partner at Hartunian and Clark.  Prior to that, he was an associate attorney at Devine, Piedmont and Rutnik.  Hartunian graduated from Georgetown University in 1983 and the Albany Law School of Union University in 1986.

William Hochul leaving the Buffalo court house in 2002 after bail hearings for the "Lackawana Six." (Getty Images)

William J. Hochul Jr.: Nominee for the Western District of New York

Hochul has been an Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of New York for 18 years, serving as Chief of the National Security Division since 2007 and Chief of the Anti-Terrorism Unit from 2002 to 2007.  From 1981 to 1991, he was an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia.  Prior to that, Hochul was an associate at Finley, Kumble, Wagner, Heine, Underberg, Manley & Casey from 1985 to 1987.  Following law school, he was a law clerk for Judge James F. Couch Jr., of the Maryland Court of Appeals from 1984 to 1985.  Hochul graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1981 and the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1984.

Ronald C. Machen, Jr.: Nominee for the District of Columbia

Machen, whose nomination we reported yesterday, is a partner at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, where he has worked since 2001.  From 1997 to 2001, Machen served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.  Prior to that, Machen was a law clerk for Judge Damon J. Keith of the United States Court of Appeals, for the Sixth Circuit, from 1995 to 1996.  Immediately following law school, he was an associate at Wilmer, Cutler and Pickering from 1994 to 1995. Machen graduated from Stanford University in 1991 and Harvard Law School in 1994.

Anne M. Tompkins: Nominee for the Western District of North Carolina

Tompkins is a partner at Alston & Bird, LLP, where she has worked since 2005.  From 2000 to 2005, she was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, serving as Deputy Criminal Chief from 2002 to 2004 and on detail in the Regime Crimes Liaison Office in Baghdad, Iraq, from 2004 to 2005.  Tompkins graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1984, the Institute of Government at the University of North Carolina in 1989 and the University of North Carolina School of Law in 1992.

Sally Quillian Yates: Nominee for the Northern District of Georgia

Yates is the Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, where she has worked since 1989.  She served in that office as an Assistant United States Attorney from 1989 to 1994, Chief of the Fraud and Public Corruption Unit from 1994 to 2002, and First Assistant United States Attorney from 2002 to 2009. She had a previous stint as Acting United States Attorney in 2004.  From 1986 to 1989, she was an associate at King & Spalding.  Yates graduated from the University of Georgia in 1982 and the University of Georgia School of Law in 1986.