A former eye doctor who set off a seven-year federal investigation into class action law firm Milberg Weiss has agreed to plead guilty to taking $6.4 million in secret kickbacks from the firm, lawyers in the case said on Wednesday.

Steven Cooperman, 64, of Connecticut will plead guilty to a charge of conspiring with Milberg Weiss and some of its partners to obstruct justice and make false statements in class actions the firm filed against scores of publicly traded companies between 1988 and 2003, federal prosecutors in Los Angeles said.

The firm and two of its senior partners have been indicted on charges that they participated in a scheme to pay secret kickbacks to Cooperman and other plaintiffs.

Milberg Weiss and its partners have pleaded not guilty.

That case is set for trial in 2008.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Milberg Weiss said the allegations against the firm "are not new" and "have never been credible and they are no more so today."

Cooperman first brought Milberg Weiss to prosecutors' attention after he was convicted in 1999 of federal insurance fraud charges for staging the theft of two paintings, a Picasso and a Monet, from his Los Angeles-area home.

Prosecutors gave Cooperman amnesty in the Milberg Weiss investigation in exchange for his cooperation in providing the government with information about the alleged kickback scheme.

An Oshkosh couple must move from the home where they allegedly made a 13-year-old daughter stay confined to a bedroom up to 22 hours a day.

Clint and Lynn Engstrom were evicted by a Winnebago County court official Wednesday, a day after he ordered that they each should stand trial on a charge of mental abuse of a child.

Court Commissioner Daniel Bissett ruled in favor of their landlord who said they were not paying rent or utilities and owe more than $4,700.

The Engstroms, jailed in lieu of $25,000 bail each, face an eviction deadline of Monday to move out of the house. Bissett told them the deadline could not be extended.

The girl testified Wednesday that her father and stepmother ordered her to stay in her sparsely furnished upstairs bedroom for months, as punishment for her bad behavior that included hitting, kicking, lying and making "mean comments."

Defense lawyers said the Engstroms will plead not guilty at a hearing in Circuit Court Monday.

BOSTON--The Gordon Law Group, a leading Massachusetts employment law firm which specializes in representing employees in wage, termination and compensation litigation, announces that managing partner, Philip Gordon, has been named to the Boston Business Journal’s prestigious “40 Under 40” list. In its ninth year, the Journal’s program recognizes emerging business leaders in Greater Boston that help drive the regional economy.

Gordon’s practice focuses on the employee, with particular attention to those matters related to overtime, minimum wage, commission, wrongful termination, employee misclassification, severance agreements, non-compete agreements, wrongful deductions, record keeping and equity compensation.

He was nominated to the 40 under 40 list by Gordon Law Group, LLP clients and community leaders, who described him as a “strategic, big-picture thinker.” “Philip designs effective strategies to make use of the law and achieve extraordinary results,” they continued. “He’s also proactive and trustworthy. Not one to languish on an idea, Philip stays on top of our issues, sometimes even pushing us.”

His work has been noted also within the legal community, including coverage in Boston Magazine, where he was named one of Massachusetts’ Top 100 Lawyers in the 2005 list of “Massachusetts Super Lawyers.”

He is also extensively involved in pro bono work, supporting education and medicine. He is one of the Senior Partners for Justice of the Wage and Hour Project of the Volunteer Lawyers Project, and he serves as Vice Chairman of the Public Policy Committee of the Jewish Community Relations Council, a member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, and a member of the Board of Governors of the Combined Jewish Philanthropies.

The Gordon Law Group, LLP is considered among a select set of boutique law firms focused on employees. The firm’s attorneys offer a level of sophistication and excellence unusual in a firm of its size, and concentrate on claims for regular wages, overtime pay, minimum wages, commissions, health insurance contributions, vacation benefits, bonuses and severance payments, as well as stock options and other forms of equity. The firm also has expertise with respect to misclassification of employees as independent contractors, treatment of non-exempt employees as exempt and enforcement of executive liability.

Long known as a leader in the Boston community, the Gordon Law Group is proud of his service.

Fewer Guantanamo Bay prisoners will be charged with war crimes this week than originally expected, chief prosecutor USAF Col. Moe Davis told Reuters Monday. Revised charges were expected to be filed against up to 20 suspected members of al Qaeda and the Taliban by February, but new procedural rules implemented earlier this month will delay the trials for at least half of those detainees. Under the new rules, hearings must take place before a tribunal judge within 30 days of the filing of charges; the trial must commence within 120 days of the charging. Davis also pointed to Guantanamo's limited facilities as partially responsible for the delay, as only one courtroom is available.

Davis said that he was very likely to recommend the death penalty for some of the 14 high-value detainees moved to the camp from CIA secret prisons in September. First evidence is expected to be presented by this summer. Davis also said Monday that Australian detainee David Hicks will likely be among those charged this week.

ATLANTA--The Grizzard Signature Group today announced it has been selected to manage fundraising direct-response initiatives for the Pacific Legal Foundation. The award extends the direct marketing agency’s relationship with the Pacific Legal Foundation through the 2007 calendar year.

Founded in 1973, Pacific Legal Foundation is America’s oldest and largest public interest legal organization dedicated to limited government and individual liberty. Pacific Legal Foundation is particularly renowned for its expertise in the area of private property rights, its opposition to racial discrimination by government, and its litigation against oppressive regulations and in support of a balanced approach to environmental protection.

“We are working with Grizzard in order to advance our fight for freedom,” said Rob Rivett, President of Pacific Legal Foundation. “Year in and year out, we win victories in court for property rights and other constitutional liberties, but our ultimate success also requires raising our profile and letting many more people, throughout the country, learn about our important work and the vital principles that inspire what we do. Our relationship with Grizzard will help us achieve that crucial goal.”

The contract with Pacific Legal Foundation underscores Grizzard's entrepreneurial roots and aligns with the company's core philosophical values. Pacific Legal Foundation fights in court for the little guy against the virtually bottomless resources of "big government" agencies. The foundation aims to “rescue liberty” from the grasp of government, and is a voice for all Americans. Similarly, Grizzard's fundraising efforts on behalf of its client base of non-profits seek to make the world a better place.

"By adding Pacific Legal Foundation to our roster of cherished clients, we extend our hope for a better, freer, more just society," said Barbara Johnson, Vice President of Grizzard Signature Group.

About Pacific Legal Foundation

Pacific Legal Foundation (www.pacificlegal.org) is the oldest and largest public interest legal organization dedicated to property rights, limited government, and a balanced approach to environmental protection.

About the Grizzard Signature Group, the Grizzard Agency

The Grizzard Signature Group is a distinctive direct-response strategic consultancy that formulates an analytics-based, donor-focused plan that reflects a nonprofit organization’s unique needs and goals. Signature Group principals draw on the talents and resources of its parent company, the 87-year-old Grizzard Communications Group, which has been led by four generations of the Grizzard family.

Through offices in Atlanta and Los Angeles, the Grizzard Communications Group serves nonprofits across America. Clients include: The Salvation Army, American Red Cross, Rescue Missions, Food Banks, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, state Sheriffs’ Associations, Habitat for Humanity affiliates, Lutheran Hour Ministries, Prostate Cancer Foundation, National Urban League, and various Animal Welfare and Humane Societies. More information can be found at www.grizzard.com.

The Grizzard Communications Group is part of Omnicom Group, Inc. (NYSE: OMC) (www.omnicomgroup.com). Omnicom is a leading global advertising, marketing and corporate communications company. Omnicom’s branded networks and numerous specialty firms provide advertising, strategic media planning and buying, direct and promotional marketing, public relations and other specialty communications services to over 5,000 clients in more than 100 countries.