Special Issue: The 'Hottest Issues' Get Hotter; The Bayou Hedge Funds Fraud
December 27, 2006
Investor confidence and market behavior can be impacted greatly by events that do not necessarily correlate. In the case of the Bayou Hedge Funds fraud, these unique and non-recurring events fueled a fire in the hedge fund industry that has spread, but not necessarily due to the particulars of the Bayou Hedge Funds failure. But, when dealing with significant investments made by pension funds, corporate entities, along with foundations and trusts, a healthy dose of skepticism is natural and appropriate. Not unlike the transition from the Enron scandal to the formation of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, hedge fund investors may extrapolate the troubles at the Bayou Hedge Funds to all hedge funds. As a result, questions of the need for regulatory oversight for a stronger accountability within the industry arise.
In the Courts
December 27, 2006
Recent rulings of importance to you and your practice.
Penance But No Absolution
December 27, 2006
The legal fiction of corporate criminal liability may finally get the rewrite it badly needs. Urged by practitioners and academics for decades, arguments for changing corporate criminal liability, if not abolishing it altogether, may now have a receptive audience in Washington.
Independent Corporate Investigations
December 27, 2006
In this age of regulatory and prosecutorial focus on corporate compliance, companies increasingly are relying on special outside counsel to conduct internal investigations into potential wrong-doing. Sometimes, these investigations are prophylactic: A company may want to understand the consequences of its current hiring prac-tices so it can develop standard operating procedures to better ensure compliance with anti-discrimination laws. Because this sort of pro-active, self-reflective investigation generally proceeds in the absence of outside scrutiny, counsel has the time and space to conduct a deliberate investigation.
At Last, Changes in the Thompson Memo
December 27, 2006
At press time, U.S. Deputy Attorney General Paul J. McNulty revised the controversial 'Thompson Memorandum.' A new 'McNulty Memorandum' was issued after harsh criticism from District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan in the KPMG case and a proposal by Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) to abrogate the Thompson Memorandum by act of Congress. Look for an in-depth analysis in our February Issue.
When Is Discretion the Better Part of Valor?
December 27, 2006
Counsel for companies faced with criminal violations of securities laws must maneuver carefully through a gamut of factors to determine whether to voluntarily disclose criminal conduct. A corporation may face administrative and criminal sanctions for non-cooperation from both the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the SEC. But the DOJ's 'Thompson Memorandum' also bestows attractive benefits for cooperation, measured in part by the corporation's willingness 'to disclose the complete results of its internal investigation.' The prosecution may grant a corporation 'immunity or amnesty or pretrial diversion' or 'a non-prosecution agreement in exchange for cooperation.'
Real Property Law
December 27, 2006
Expert analysis of rulings that affect your practice.
