In 2019, Gordon Caplan, then co-chairman of the firm,"Willkie Cuts Ties as Gordon Caplan Plans Guilty Plea in College Cheating Case", Law.com, The American Lawyer, April 5, 2019. Retrieved April 9, 2019. named 2018 “Dealmaker of the Year” by The American Lawyer,Rick Mitchell. "Others, in College Entrance Bribery Case", March 13, 2019, Bloomberg Law, BigLaw Business.com. Retrieved March 14, 2019. was indicted as a parent participant in the 2019 college admissions bribery scandal, for conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud; the firm placed him on indefinite leave the next day."A Top Lawyer Will Plead Guilty in the College-Admissions Scandal", by Matthew Goldstein, The New York Times, April 5, 2019. Retrieved April 9, 2019."Willkie's Gordon Caplan Is Obscure No More",The American Lawyer. A felony guilty plea deal was filed in March 2019, and he was sentenced to one month in prison.dal-probe/ "Caplan's Plea Deal With Prosecutors Calls for Prison Time", by Jack Newsham, The American Lawyer, April 8, 2019. Retrieved April 9, 2019.Andrew E. Lelling, U.S. Department of Justice, District of Massachusetts, March 27, 2019. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
