In an earlier post I criticized the government’s case against Lord Conrad Black and labeled its prosecution a “jihad” against business. In the interest of being fair and balanced, I commend to you this post by Professor Bainbridge, which makes a cogent argument that Lord Black plundered his company and its shareholders.
Monthly Archives: July 2007
Vick Co-Defendant Flips
One of Michael Vick’s co-defendants in the dog fighting fiasco pleaded guilty today and is cooperating with the federales, the Associated Press reports. While it is critical not to pre-judge and assume Vick’s guilt – if the Duke case taught us anything it was about the dangers in rushing to jkudgment – this is nonetheless [...]
Administrative Note
You may have noticed that the blog is undergoing some changes. I have been in the process of melding a couple of litigation related blogs together, so as to do all of my trial related blogging in one place. Over the next week or so I will be trying to clean up the mess that [...]
Let’s Kill the Billable Hour Once and For All
It has long been my belief that the billable hour system, bu which many attorneys charge their clients and earn their livings ( and as I do, too for some matters, by way of disclosure) creates an inherent tension between the attorney’s interests and those of the client. If the attorney is being paid by [...]
Lord Black – Victim of the Government’s Anti-Business Jihad
As you likely know by now, Lord Conrad Black, former CEO of Hollinger International and owner of, among other media properties, The Chicago Sun Times and The National Post, was convicted last week on 3 counts of money laundering and 1 count of obstruction of justice. He was acquitted on the remaining 9 counts of [...]
Subway Founder Loses NASD Arbitration – Not a Big Surprise
The co-founder of Subway recently lost his NASD arbitration claim, in which he alleged the UBS caused him $193 million in damages by improperly investing funds held by trusts he controlled in tech stocks before the 2001 market implosion. As Mr. Deluca discovered, NASD arbitration panels are not usually very investor friendly, especially when the [...]
Black Case Could Be Headed For Mistrial
Jurors in the trial of media mogul Conrad Black have advised the judge that they are unable to reach a verdict, and added in their note to the court that they have “read the jury instructions very carefully.” The New York Times provides this report:
A jury in the racketeering and fraud trial of fallen media [...]
White House Asserts Executive Privilege
In a move that ought to surprise no one, the White House today asserted executive privilege and denied Congressional requests that two former White House aides, former counsel Harriet Miers and former political director Sara Taylor testify before the House and Senate Judicary Committees, respectively, the Associated Press reports. In a letter to the Chairmen [...]
Brocade Backdating Prosecution on Life Support
The federal judge presiding over the stock options backdating related criminal prosecution of former Brocade Communications CEO Gregory Reyes has ordered prosecutors to file a response to the defense team’s motion for acquittal by 8 am tomorrow morning. At a hearing on Friday, the Judge grilled prosecutors relentlessly about what evidence had been presented to [...]