In a recent update, a federal judge in Virginia sanctioned a settlement agreement permitting Gary LeClair, co-founder of now-dissolved law firm LeClairRyan, a $1.6 million unsecured claim in the firm’s ongoing bankruptcy proceedings. This decision followed earlier contentions in which the same judge, as well as a bankruptcy judge, intensely criticized LeClair and a bankruptcy trustee for seeking to rescind previous rulings that held bearing on LeClair’s tax debts.
Judge David Novak of the Eastern District of Virginia stamped the updated settlement in a recent hearing. A consecutive proceeding before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Huennekens, who has been managing the aftermath of the firm’s dissolution since 2019, succeeded this hearing.
The substitution transpired despite the judge’s stern comments on LeClair’s actions, pointing out that, “While the meteoric rise and fall of LeClairRyan PLLC may have been extraordinary, LeClair’s personal avarice does not translate into a circumstance worthy of vacating this court’s opinion”.
For more detail about the proceedings and the judge’s commentary, you can read the original report on Law.com.