September 6, 2008

Odd doings continue in the $22.5 billion lawsuit, per Bloomberg:

``Every legal system has its flaws,'' [plaintiff's expert and Harvard lawprof Alan Dershowitz] said in an interview yesterday. ``Who are we to cast aspersions on a country's legal system?''... Leading the Russian legal team is 47-year-old Steven C. Marks, an attorney with Miami-based Podhurst Orseck P.A. who has worked with the Russian government for the past decade on cases including tobacco litigation.

His firm pitched the money-laundering case against BNY Mellon to Russian authorities. It has hosted conference calls to promote the merits of Russia's claims and issued a press release when Bove wrote in March that U.S. and European Union courts may enforce any ruling made in Russia.

Marks has declined to disclose the percentage of the judgment his firm stands to collect as fees if it wins the lawsuit, drawing criticism from analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in New York.

A team led by Vivek Juneja wrote in a July 16 note to clients that ``misstatements,'' inconsistencies and lack of disclosure about fee arrangements by the trial attorneys were troubling.

``We would hope legal authorities and agencies would look into what is really going on in this lawsuit,'' the JPMorgan analysts wrote.

Marks said any criticism of his or Russia's motives is ``inappropriate.''

``The analysts have a financial interest in this institution,'' Marks said in an interview.

Earlier here, here, here, and here.