Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer took a swipe at the criminal defense bar last week in a speech to state and local prosecutors, calling out “certain” lawyers — without elaboration — for turning prosecution mistakes into allegations of misconduct. “This kind of gamesmanship is unfortunate,” said Breuer, the head of DOJ’s Criminal Division, at the July 20 National Association of District Attorneys conference. Prosecutors, he said, will not shy from cases just because of the possibility an “opportunistic defense lawyer will try and make hay out of an honest mistake.” His remarks fueled debate in the criminal defense and academic arenas about whether DOJ is taking a strong enough position against combatting prosecutorial error and malfeasance. Breuer touted the department’s discovery reform and increased training, and he’s spoken to groups of defense lawyers about prosecution ethics. Still, the strongly worded slap left James Coleman Jr., a Duke Law School professor, on edge. “Making the remarks to an audience of prosecutors suggests the remarks are intended to make the prosecutors feel better about themselves, rather than to change the behavior about which he is complaining,” Coleman said. — Mike Scarcella
SULLIVAN TAKES FRAUD PRACTICE TO PILLSBURY
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman has installed a Washington-based lawyer to help lead its corporate investigation and white-collar defense group. The firm announced last week that William Sullivan Jr. left Winston & Strawn to join New York-based Pillsbury partner Mark Hellerer as co-leader of the group.
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