-
Think Before You Write That E-Mail
On the list of things not to write in an e-mail is the following from a lawyer to his partners in a law firm in connection with a case he had: I completely overlooked an important recent decision that dramatically changed the landlord-tenant law. (How I missed the case is a mystery since I read…
-
Former Philadephia Treasurer Sentenced to Ten Years
U.S. District Judge Michael Baylson sentenced former Philadelphia Treasurer Corey Kemp to a ten-year term of imprisonment for his conviction on conspiracy and right of honest services fraud charges. Kemp was one of five defendants charged in a wide-ranging indictment that included "pay-to-play" counts, along with perjury and false statement charges. Kemp was the highest…
-
Is There Such Thing as White Collar Crime Jurisprudence?
With the nomination of John G. Roberts, Jr., to replace Justice Sandra Day O’Connor on the Supreme Court, there will be lots of discussion about his judicial philosophy and its potential effect on different areas of the law. One question I thought about briefly is whether his nomination will have an effect on white collar…
-
What Exactly Is a Crime?
In connection with the ongoing investigation of the leak of Valerie Plame’s role as a CIA agent, President Bush said that anyone on the White House staff who "committed a crime" related to the leak would be fired. Did the President mean a conviction, indictment, or just being named a "target" of the investigation? Not…
-
Corruption Convictions in San Diego
While justly famous for its zoo, San Diego may have a competitor with its city government. Two members of the city council, Michael Zucchet and Ralph Inzunza, were convicted on corruption charges along with a former Clark County (Nevada) Commissioner in a trial dubbed "Strippergate" by the local media. To make matters worse for San…
-
Head of Enron Task Force Resigns
Andrew Weissmann, the second director of the Enron Task Force in Houston, TX, announced his resignation to return to private practice. Tom Kirkendall on the Houston’s Clear Thinkers blog has an interesting post (here) about the timing of the announcement and the tactics used by the Task Force with its cooperating witnesses. Having worked for…
-
Employees Sunk By the Corporation’s Waiver of the Attorney-Client Privilege
It is axiomatic that the client holds the attorney-client privilege and controls its waiver, but things get much more complicated when a corporation is the client and its attorneys interview employees as part of an internal investigation of wrongdoing. Employees are likely to view the company’s lawyer as their own attorney, and corporate counsel has…
-
Beware the “Misdirected” Fax
Similar to the scam that involved leaving fake "misdirected" voicemail messages touting a stock, three defendants were charged criminally and civilly with sending out hundreds of thousands of faxes addressed to one "Dr. Mitchel" urging the purchase of penny stocks. Joshua Yafa’s part of the scheme involved a company called AVL Global, Inc., and after…
-
Who Said What to Whom and When About Valerie Plame
The investigation by Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald of the leak to the press of the identity of Valerie Plame as a CIA covert agent (assuming she was in fact one at the time) is beginning to take on the appearance of the old Abbott and Costello "Who’s On First?" routine. Did Karl Rove learn from…
-
The Beastie Boys Meet Wall Street
The Beastie Boys sang (in an extended sense of that term) an all-time great song: Fight For Your Right to Party. The chorus is quite catchy: "You gotta fight for your right to party!" An on-going investigation of gift-giving involving Fidelity Investments, which spends approximately $1 billion a year on commissions in its large stock…
-
Subscribe
Subscribed
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
MattBray.net 