The saga of Robert M. Schulman — former intellectual property litigation partner at Hunton & Williams and Arent Fox, who was convicted of conspiracy and securities fraud in 2017 — has seemingly reached its conclusion. Schulman was already sentenced to three years probation, fined $50,000 and ordered to forfeit about $15,500 and required to serve 2,000 hours of community service, but now the District of Columbia Court of Appeals ad hoc committee on professional responsibility has weighed in on the matter. In a negotiated discipline, Schulman has agreed to a three year suspension, retroactive to June 28, 2018.
Way back in 2010 Schulman allegedly got drunk before sharing inside information about a planned M&A deal with a friend and investment adviser, Tibor Klein. He hinted that his client King Pharmaceuticals was going to merge with Pfizer, saying, “It would be nice to be King for a day.”
In a statement to ABA Journal, Schulman points to a life beyond Biglaw and his previous patent law speciality:
Schulman said he was grateful that the hearing committee and a case manager “expended the effort to look beneath the surface into the specifics of my case.”
“The patent office has likewise handled this matter in a very professional manner,” he said. “Should the D.C. Court of Appeals agree to the settlement, I do not know that I would practice again, though it would be nice to have that as an option.
“Even after the passage of more than three years since the verdict, I still wrestle with what has happened. But it did happen. I have tried to learn and grow from it and not become embittered. I am grateful for the support of family and friends who saw me through this. There are a lot of great people, both clients and former colleagues, whom I miss dearly. I am still in touch with many of them.
“I’ve tried to use my extra time in a meaningful way. I’ve become a master gardener and am pursuing a master’s in agriculture and life sciences from Virginia Tech. I’ve also been teaching ESL classes.
“At this point, I’m enjoying my vegetable gardening, including a lot of volunteering, my grandchildren and, with any luck, some baseball soon. There is in fact life after patent law after all!”
I don’t want to say it’s dire, but he is looking forward to baseball y’all.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).