Milberg Weiss partners must enter pleas by Oct. 12

LOS ANGELES, Sept 21 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Friday ordered two former partners of Milberg Weiss LLP to enter their guilty pleas by October 12 in the case alleging the firm made illicit payments to plaintiffs in securities class action lawsuits, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles said.

Attorneys Steven Schulman and William Lerach earlier this week each agreed to plead guilty to charges they were involved in a kickback scheme at the New York-based law firm, which specialized in suing big corporations on behalf of shareholders.

No court dates has been set yet for either man, spokesman Thom Mrozek said in an email.

Schulman and Lerach are two of four former Milberg Weiss partners indicted in the case. Melvyn Weiss, one of the firm's founders, was indicted on Thursday and has vowed to fight the charges. David Bershad pleaded guilty last year and is cooperating with prosecutors.

On Thursday, prosecutors said Milberg Weiss racked up $250 million in attorney's fees over 25 years in the cases in which plaintiffs were alleged to have been received secret payments. Milberg Weiss itself was indicted last year, and the scope of its alleged criminal conduct was expanded in Thursday's superseding indictment that included charges against Weiss, prosecutors said.

The firm's trial is still scheduled to start on Jan. 8, Mrozek said.