‘Shock Is the Word’ in Bust of Akin Gump Attorney

“Shocking,” “sad” and “unbelievable” are some words attorneys used to describe the recent arrest of a fellow attorney accused of trying to sell access to a sealed false claims lawsuit to a potential defendant.

Federal agents arrested Jeffrey Wertkin on Jan. 31 for trying to sell for $310,000 a copy of a secret lawsuit to someone he believed was a representative of a company under investigation by the Justice Department (DOJ).

Wertkin himself was a former DOJ attorney, and his arrest prompted at least one attorney to suggest that DOJ should launch a review of his cases to make sure ...