Phony Lawyer Outed at Top City Firm
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

Brian Valery wasn’t really a lawyer. But he admits that he played one at a prestigious Manhattan law firm.
Valery started as a paralegal at Manhattan’s Anderson Kill & Olick, then falsely claimed he later got his law degree and passed the bar. He admits he stole more than $200,000 from the firm by collecting a lawyer’s salary for almost two years.
Today, he pleaded guilty to second-degree grand larceny.
State Supreme Court Justice Gregory Carro says he’ll sentence Valery to five years probation if he repays at least $150,000 by his January 30 sentencing. If he fails to repay the money, the judge could send Valery, a resident of Massapequa, Long Island, to prison for five to 15 years.