William Lerach, one of the US’s most feared lawyers, last night pled guilty to conspiracy over his role in a scheme that bribed claimants to sign up to class action lawsuits.

Mr Lerach, 61, best known for winning $7 billion (£3.38 billion) for Enron investors, entered his plea of one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice and make false statements

Asked by US District Judge John Walter how he would plead to the charge, Mr Lerach said: “Guilty, your honour.”

Under the plea deal, Mr Lerach agreed to forfeit $7.75 million, pay a $250,000 fine and accept a sentence of one or two years in prison.

Mr Lerach is the seventh person to plead guilty following a long0running Federal investigation into alleged kick-backs in class action lawsuits.

Prosecutors say the firm previously known as Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman paid $11.3 million in kickbacks to people who became claimants in lawsuits targeting companies such as AT&T, Lucent, WorldCom, Microsoft and Prudential Insurance.

Court documents said the tactic allowed Milberg Weiss lawyers to be among the first to file litigation and secure the lucrative position as lawyer for the lead claimants.

Firm founder Melvyn Weiss, 72, and the firm itself have pled not guilty to conspiracy and other charges.

Outside the court Mr Lerach and his lawyer, John Keker, declined to comment.

Sentencing was scheduled for 14 January, 2008.

Mr Lerach apologised in a statement released when prosecutors announced the plea deal last month, which said he “crossed a line and pushed too far.”

Prosecutors said the law firm made an estimated $250 million (£120.8 million) by filing class-action cases over the last two decades.

Mr Weiss and other top lawyers dominated the industry in securities class action lawsuits, which involve shareholders who claim they suffered losses because executives misled them about a company’s financial condition.

Mr Lerach left Milberg Weiss in 2004 and formed his own firm in California. His plea deal protects that firm, Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robins, from being charged in the Milberg Weiss case.

Mr Lerach resigned from Coughlin Stoia last month.

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