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ARTICLE · 23 JULY 2024

RICO — Not Just For Mob Lawyers

Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP
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Lawyers have long been largely immune from RICO liability, whether their client is engaged in nefarious behavior running afoul of the RICO Act or the lawyers...

United StatesLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Michael S. Weisenbach
Michael S. Weisenbach
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Lawyers have long been largely immune from RICO liability, whether their client is engaged in nefarious behavior running afoul of the RICO Act or the lawyers themselves commit independent fraudulent acts. RICO liability is traditionally reserved for the “operation and management” of an enterprise engaged in prohibited behavior, and the provision of “legal services” has been the silver bullet for lawyers accused of RICO violations for the past three decades. In practice, lawyers advising racketeering organizations remain immune from criminal or civil RICO liability even if the racketeering organization follows the lawyer's legal advice regarding the racketeering scheme. As long as the lawyer is not directly engaged in the “operation or management” of the enterprise, RICO liability falls to the racketeering client alone.

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