Font Size: 
Former Milbank Chairman to Testify as Wills Expert in Astor Trial
New York Law Journal
July 24, 2009
Three months into the criminal trial of socialite Brooke Astor's son, Anthony Marshall, and the lawyer he hired who allegedly helped him loot his mother's estate, the presiding judge has cleared the way for a trusts and estate expert to testify for the prosecution.
Alexander D. Forger, the former chairman of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, can give expert testimony on the "patterns" of Astor's wills and codicils and the "professional practice standards" for trusts and estates attorneys, Acting Supreme Court Justice A. Kirke Bartley Jr. ruled Wednesday from the bench.
However, the judge barred Forger from testifying on issues that could prove critical to the prosecution's case: whether Henry Christensen III, who represented Astor for more than 20 years, and G. Warren Whitaker, the attorney who drafted a hotly disputed Jan. 12, 2004, codicil to the socialite's 2002 will, violated ethical standards.
Read the submissions of the prosecution and Marshall regarding Forger's appearance.
The January 2004 codicil gave Marshall control over a $60 million piece of his mother's estate, which would have otherwise gone to charities.
Bartley also said that Forger, a past president of the New York State Bar Association, could not opine on the conduct of lawyer Francis X. Morrissey, Marshall's co-defendant, or testify as to whether the codicil was designed to "fool" Astor.
In an interview, Forger, who will testify pro bono, said, "I think every lawyer has an obligation to respond when called upon to render public service." He said the prosecution approached him about testifying in February, but he declined to comment on the potential impact of his testimony.
A graduate of Yale Law School, Forger is known for his involvement in several high-profile will contests. He served as the co-executor of the estate of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and represented the children in the highly publicized battle over the estate of J. Seward Johnson Sr., son of the founder of Johnson & Johnson.
Forger now works at Manhattan-based Oak Spring Farms, which manages the financial affairs and property of one of his former clients, Rachel Lambert Mellon, the widow of philanthropist and racehorse owner Paul Mellon.
When Astor died in 2007 at the age of 105, she left behind an estate valued at $132 million and a residual estate worth $60 million.
The prosecution claims Marshall, 85, and Morrissey, 66, took advantage of Astor's deteriorated mental state to gain control of the residual estate.
The government has called both Christensen, a former Sullivan & Cromwell lawyer who oversaw Astor's execution of a December 2003 codicil, and Whitaker, who drafted the January 2004 codicil. Forger's testimony may help the jury evaluate their testimony.
The prosecution claims Christensen, who represented Marshall in his divorce from his second wife when he began representing Astor, labored under a conflict of interest. It also contends the codicil Whitaker oversaw was part of a conspiracy to defraud Astor. Neither lawyer has been charged with a crime.
Alexander D. Forger, the former chairman of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, can give expert testimony on the "patterns" of Astor's wills and codicils and the "professional practice standards" for trusts and estates attorneys, Acting Supreme Court Justice A. Kirke Bartley Jr. ruled Wednesday from the bench.
However, the judge barred Forger from testifying on issues that could prove critical to the prosecution's case: whether Henry Christensen III, who represented Astor for more than 20 years, and G. Warren Whitaker, the attorney who drafted a hotly disputed Jan. 12, 2004, codicil to the socialite's 2002 will, violated ethical standards.
Read the submissions of the prosecution and Marshall regarding Forger's appearance.
The January 2004 codicil gave Marshall control over a $60 million piece of his mother's estate, which would have otherwise gone to charities.
Bartley also said that Forger, a past president of the New York State Bar Association, could not opine on the conduct of lawyer Francis X. Morrissey, Marshall's co-defendant, or testify as to whether the codicil was designed to "fool" Astor.
In an interview, Forger, who will testify pro bono, said, "I think every lawyer has an obligation to respond when called upon to render public service." He said the prosecution approached him about testifying in February, but he declined to comment on the potential impact of his testimony.
A graduate of Yale Law School, Forger is known for his involvement in several high-profile will contests. He served as the co-executor of the estate of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and represented the children in the highly publicized battle over the estate of J. Seward Johnson Sr., son of the founder of Johnson & Johnson.
Forger now works at Manhattan-based Oak Spring Farms, which manages the financial affairs and property of one of his former clients, Rachel Lambert Mellon, the widow of philanthropist and racehorse owner Paul Mellon.
When Astor died in 2007 at the age of 105, she left behind an estate valued at $132 million and a residual estate worth $60 million.
The prosecution claims Marshall, 85, and Morrissey, 66, took advantage of Astor's deteriorated mental state to gain control of the residual estate.
The government has called both Christensen, a former Sullivan & Cromwell lawyer who oversaw Astor's execution of a December 2003 codicil, and Whitaker, who drafted the January 2004 codicil. Forger's testimony may help the jury evaluate their testimony.
The prosecution claims Christensen, who represented Marshall in his divorce from his second wife when he began representing Astor, labored under a conflict of interest. It also contends the codicil Whitaker oversaw was part of a conspiracy to defraud Astor. Neither lawyer has been charged with a crime.
