Adams and Reese is paying $1m while Breazeale Sachse & Wilson will pay $1.7m. The claims were brought by an investors committee and a court-appointed receiver. The two firms are reported to have written opinion letters about the operations of Mr Stansford's scheme.

Best interest

While neither practice accepted any liability, Breazeale's managing partner Scott Hensgens commented: 'However, after years of protracted litigation, we felt it was in the best interest of the firm to settle this matter.' Source: ABA