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LE GAL E THICS BY PHILIP SLAYTON sweet smellof The tale of Marc Dreier is a tragedy, but a cautionary tale as well. self-loathing and regret . . . ." So wrote disgraced New York lawyer "I Marc Dreier, after pleading guilty to massive fraud, in his sentencing letter to Judge Jed Rakoff of the Federal District Court in Manhattan. Dreier composed the letter to give "some context to what I did . . . to explain how a person with my background and advantages came to do the unconscionable." Law.com called Dreier's frauds "the most brazen and spectacular deception in law firm history." His sentencing letter unexpect- edly tells us something important about the ethical perils of legal practice. When the roof fell in, Dreier, in his late 50s, had a $10-million Manhattan have betrayed the people I care about the most, and I suffer every day from . . . shame and condominium, a waterfront home in the Hamptons, a house in Santa Monica, Calif., a home in Anguilla, a $40-million art collection, and an $18-million yacht with a permanent crew of 10 (including a chef). Divorced with two children, he had dated a succession of beautiful young women. A graduate of Yale and Harvard law school, he was the sole owner of a New York-based law firm, Dreier LLP, with 250 employees. Today, tagged the "Houdini of impersonation" by the popular press, Dreier is in prison. The final act in this sorry saga took place in Canada. On Dec. 2, 2008, Drier flew from New York to Toronto by private jet and went to the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan offices. After meeting with Michael Padfield, a lawyer for Teachers, Dreier asked to 14 OC T O BER 2009 www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com success The use a telephone and was shown into a conference room. There he met with Howard Steinberg, a New York hedge fund representative he had previously invited to the Teachers' offices. Dreier pretended he was Padfield, used Padfield's business card (that he'd been given earlier), and tried to close the sale to the hedge fund of $33 million in fraudulent promissory notes supposedly backed by Teachers. Steinberg sensed something was wrong, and ended the meeting early. He asked a receptionist if the man who had just left the conference room was Michael Padfield, and was told that he wasn't. Police were called. Dreier was arrested. Later, it turned out Dreier had defrauded a variety of investors of hundreds of millions of dollars; DARCY MUENCHRATH