EFTA00183740¶
PodhurstOrseck¶
TRIAL & APPELLATE LAWYERS¶
Robert Orseck (1934-1978)¶
Aaron S. Podhurst¶
Robert C. Josefsberg¶
Joel D. Hahn¶
Steven C. Marks¶
Victor M. Diaz, Jr.¶
Katherine W. Ezell¶
Stephen F. Rosenthal¶
Ricardo M. Martínez-Cid¶
Ramon A. Rasco¶
Alexander T. Rundlet¶
John Gravante, III¶
Walter H. Beckham, Jr.¶
Karen Podhurst Dem¶
Of Counsel¶
February 20, 2009¶
Jay P. Lefkowitz, C.T.¶
Kirkland & Ellis LLP¶
Citigroup Center¶
153 East 53rd Street¶
New York, NY 10022-4611¶
Dear Mr. Lefkowitz:¶
I received your letter dated February 13, 2009. What your client is doing obvious, and it is in breach of his Non-Prosecution Agreement. The agreement speaks for itself. Enclosed is a copy of the marching orders I received from Mr. Sloman. Pursuant to these directions and the ethical requirements of the legal profession to zealously represent my clients, I have attempted to efficiently and effectively pursue my clients’ claims against Mr. Epstein. Perhaps your client thought that he could victimize and intimidate countless underage girls, that he would then agree to provide minimal compensation to them for the damage he inflicted upon them and that I would then simply let them come in and “sign the paperwork” for the absolute minimum recovery. My role is not a clerical one where I merely document a settlement that simply offers the statutory minimum even though courts have provided recovery for each occurrence. What’s more, your letter presumes that I should allow my clients to accept such an offer without fully evaluating their claims. Settling their cases in a vacuum would amount to malpractice.¶
As we see it, each of our 9 or 10 clients has three choices: to do nothing, to settle, or to sue your client. In order to make an educated decision, we are required to conduct a comprehensive review of each client’s personal history, the events surrounding their abuse at the hands of Mr. Epstein and what has happened to them since he sexually exploited and abused them. Collateral interviews and psychological evaluations are crucial components of corroborating facts and assessing a fair damages calculation. Extensive legal research into their potential legal claims and resulting damages must also take place. Such an investigation is, of course, going to be helpful at trial if any of them choose to litigate their claims. This, however, does not change the fact that everything we’ve done is necessary in order to determine if we should settle. As a matter of fact, you and I discussed hiring Sandy Marks, a jury consultant. Again, such an exercise would be extremely helpful at trial, but an analysis of what would happen at trial is exceptionally beneficial at the settlement stage.¶
Podhurst Orseck, P.A. 25 West Flagler Street, Suite 800, Miami, FL 33130 Miami 305.358.2800 Fax 305.358.2382 • Fort Lauderdale 954.463.4346¶
EFTA00183741¶
February 20, 2009¶
Page 2¶
You are welcome to set up a conference call or visit us so we can go through my bills line by line in search of “any charges related to work performed beyond, or extraneous to, reaching a settlement.” To be clear, nothing in our bills is extraneous to settlement of our clients’ claims. Our bills represent our work on behalf of 9 or 10 clients. I will take this opportunity to remind you that of the $412,827.76 that we have sent you itemized bills for, only $163,992.15 has been paid. Mr. Black wrote on February 3rd that he was advised that a check had been sent out that day. It had not. By the time we got 50% of outstanding fees, outstanding bills were more than 90 days overdue. Failure to pay our fees jeopardizes your client’s agreement with the United States Attorney’s Office.¶
My exchange with Mr. Black (copies of e-mails are attached) illustrates that promises that have been written or said by you or Mr. Black have been breached. I find myself in a position where I do not know if Mr. Epstein is bound by what you or Mr. Black say. Before we go further, I need confirmation that you and/or Roy Black can commit Mr. Epstein.¶
One of Mr. Black’s e-mails clearly states that “Jeffrey will not pay more for the fees and expenses without the start of settlement negotiations.” I am frankly baffled by your client’s misguided pretense. When I met with you on November 26, 2008, you said Mr. Epstein would not be ready to talk about settling until the end of January. Both you and Mr. Black did not return three or four calls to each of you between January 10 and approximately January 25. Just so the record is clear, we have diligently pursued reaching the stage of active settlement negotiations and have been stonewalled by your side, until your February 13th “take it or leave it” $50,000 per client offer.¶
In addition, I have attempted to tackle any procedural and logistical problems in an efficient, economical and timely manner. At each step, I have either encountered delay or a complete lack of response. For example, I wasted a lot of time and energy on your client’s frivolous claim that I cannot represent my clients at trial. You shocked me with that position on November 21st and promised to get back to me to discuss it. Since we met in November, we haven’t received a response regarding this issue. You apparently have finally abandoned this position. In addition, at that November meeting, I told you that some victims have severe psychological problems and that their claims warranted far in excess of $150,000 but that we are sensitive to concerns about them using the money otherwise. As a result, we discussed putting the money in special trusts expressly restricted for payment of psychological treatment. Again, I have received no response.¶
Finally, the March 13th cutoff date is nonsensical. I trust that you wouldn’t dare be attempting to say that Mr. Epstein’s offer is withdrawn after that. As I said before, your client is in clear breach of his Non-Prosecution Agreement. I am at a loss as to why he would be willing to face the prospect of numerous civil trials, which will be ugly for him, and a federal prosecution in order to avoid fairly compensating my clients for the harm he inflicted upon them.¶
every truly yours,¶
Poul Ayre¶
Robert C. Josefsberg¶
cc: Roy Black¶
Alan Dershowitz¶