State Bar Investigates Meese, Wallach

The State Bar says it is investigating attorney E. Robert Wallach’s activities involving the Wedtech Corp. and Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III, as well as Meese himself.

At the same time, an inquiry into whether Wallach and a former partner charged excessive fees in two civil suits has been closed without any accusations of improper conduct, Bar spokeswoman Anne Charles said Wednesday.

Independent counsel James McKay ruled out criminal charges against Meese, but concluded that the attorney general had probably violated criminal laws on income taxes and conflicts of interest. The report also questioned some of Meese’s actions on behalf of Wallach in connection with Wedtech, a collapsed New York military contractor, and a $1-billion Iraqi pipeline plan.

The Bar already has said it has asked for a copy of the report to investigate whether Meese, who is licensed to practice law in California, violated any ethical standards for lawyers.

Wallach has been indicted in New York on federal charges that he defrauded Wedtech by accepting $1.3 million for purported legal work that actually paid for his efforts to influence Meese and his promises of favors in a future government job that never materialized. He has denied the accusations.

The concluded investigation into Wallach’s legal fees involved an attempt by Wallach and former partner David Baum to collect $1 million from a $1.73-million settlement in San Francisco for two burn victims, and $862,000 in fees and expenses they collected from a $2.2-million settlement in Sacramento. In both cases the fees were approved by judges.