REGULATORS DEMAND $275M FROM THRIFT'S FORMER LAWYERS.(Business)

Byline: Associated Press

Regulators on Monday demanded $275 million from Lincoln Savings and Loan Association's former attorneys in the biggest judgment ever sought from a law firm implicated in a thrift failure.

The Office of Thrift Supervision claimed that Kaye, Scholer, Fierman, Hayes and Handler "knowingly aided and abetted regulatory violations by Lincoln," the collapsed Irvine, Calif., S&L operated by Charles J. Keating Jr.

The firm's actions "constituted unethical and improper professional conduct and demonstrated a lack of professional character and integrity," the agency said at a news conference.

Gary Lynch, the firm's attorney, …