US plaintiffs' lawyers reject plea deal - report

NEW YORK, June 28 (Reuters) - Top U.S. shareholder lawyers Melvyn Weiss and William Lerach have rejected an offer to plead guilty in a kickbacks case that would have required them to serve prison sentences of three or four years, according to a published report on Thursday.

The report in the Daily Journal, a California legal newspaper, cited unidentified attorneys involved in the case as saying that federal prosecutors contacted lawyers for Lerach and Weiss several weeks ago with an offer that called for them to plead guilty to obstruction or conspiracy charges.

Neither Weiss nor Lerach have been charged in the case against law firm Milberg Weiss & Bershad LLP.

Weiss is one of the founders of the firm, while Lerach formerly led its West Coast operations before leaving in 2004 to start his own law practice.

Attorneys for the men could not immediately be reached for comment on the report.

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles, which is prosecuting the Milberg Weiss case, declined to comment.

New York-based Milberg Weiss was indicted last year on accusations it made secret kickbacks to plaintiffs in class-action lawsuits so that the firm could be first to file a case. Two senior partners at the firm also were indicted. They have all pleaded not guilty. A trial is set for next year.

Lerach recently announced he is considering retirement from his San Diego-based firm, Lerach Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP, amid speculation that he could be charged in the case.

Lerach and Weiss are two of the best-known U.S. plaintiffs' lawyers specializing in investor class-actions against big corporations.