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Defending Attorneys Against Extortion Charges Presents Unique Challenges
Although the criminal prosecution of lawyer misconduct is nothing new, the recent indictment of a plaintiffs' lawyer in Maryland and sentencing of two plaintiffs' lawyers in Virginia illustrate the particular danger to attorneys who arguably cross the line during negotiations with potential litigation counterparties. They also vividly illustrate the hurdles unique to defending lawyers accused of attempting to extort counterparties for their own financial gain.
Federal Extortion Statutes
The crime of extortion — forcing payment in response to a specific threat — is normally associated in popular culture with Tony Soprano-like figures. In those cases, the U.S. government typically uses acts of extortion as predicate offenses in an organized crime prosecution under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).
But the government has additional tools to prosecute extortion beyond RICO, most notably 18 U.S.C. §1951 (the Hobbs Act), which prohibits obstructing commerce by means of extortion or attempting to do so, and 18 U.S.C. §875, which prohibits the transmission in interstate or foreign commerce, with intent to extort, of a threat to injure the property or reputation of any person.
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