Monthly Archives: March 2007

The Government’s Never Ending Enron Jihad

According to news reports the SEC on Wednesday filed charges against two former Enron in-house lawyers. The SEC filed its complaint 7 years after the occurrence of the events out of which the claims arise, and more than 5 years after Enron’s stock tanked. One has to wonder whether there will ever be an end…

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Bad News at Dell

Dell computer announced yesterday that an internal investigation of company finances had revealed evidence of misconduct, accounting errors and insufficiency of financial controls. The SEC and the US Attorney’s office are investigating. Can the shareholder lawsuits be too far behind? Not a good day for Dell.

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Dallas Law Firm Settles Tax Shelter Charges With the SEC and Plans to Close Its Doors

The New York Law Journal reported today that Dallas-based law firm Jenkens & Gilchrist has reached a deal with the SEC over charges related to the firm’s development and marketing of illegal tax shelters. The firm willa void criminal prosecution under the deal, but, having lost approximately two thirds of its lawyers, plans to shut…

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Gekko Vindicated – Seems Greed Really Is Good

At least Mark Vanos, the editor of Fast Company magazine seems to agree. Fast Company, while business friendly, isn’t really a hotbed of unbridled laissez faire capitalism. So needless to say, I was a bit surprised to see that Vanos was willing to give truck to the idea, of which I have long been convinced,…

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Wilson Sonsini Can’t Seem to Get Clear of the Options Mess

Law.com published a story today about the continuing options backdating morass in which iconic Silicon Valley law firm Wilson Sonsini continues to find itself. This whole mess seems like a bad cold that those caught in it just can’t seem to shake.

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Former Budget Director Stockman Indicted

David Stockman, who served as director of the Office of Management and Budget, was indicted today on securities fraud and other charges, the Washington Post reports. Stockman pleaded not guilty, and vows to vigorously defend against the charges. He was relased on $1 million bail.

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More on the Stockman Indictment

Courtesy of the Wall Street Journal’s Law Blog, more info is available on today’s indictment of former Budget Director David Stockman on securities fraud charges. Both Stockman and his attorney have issued statements. For Mr. Stockman’s sake, I hope he fares better than the last high profile client that the Morvillo firm represented on securities…

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David Stockman Charged With Securities Fraud

The New York Times is reporting that former Reagan Administration budget director and wunderkind David Stockman has been charged with securities fraud. More as this story develops.

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End of the Line for Vonage?

The Dealmaker blog reports that a federal judge on Friday granted Verizon’s request to enter an injunction prohibiting VOIP provider Vonage’s customer’s from making calls to standard phone lines. This comes on the heels of the damages award previously entered on behalf of Verizon. Vonage vows an appeal, but I question whether the company can…

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Cable Companies Suffer Setback in DVR Case

The New York Bar Journal reports today that Judge Denny Chin of the federal Southern District of New York has ruled that the DVR service provided by Cablevision infringes the copyright rights of entertainment producers whose content is copied by and stored for consumer use by Cablevision’s system. Judge Chin found that Cablevision’s system differed…

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