In Miles Away… Worlds Apart, Alan Sakowitz tells the story of the biggest financial fraud in South Florida history, from his unique perspective of a whistleblower. Throughout the book Sakowitz compares his close-knit neighborhood to the Scott Rothstein’s greed. Sakowitz takes us through the narrative of the events leading to the arrest of Scott Rothstein. … Read more »
Enjoy Columbus Day
I’m enjoying Columbus Day. School is closed and the office is closed. The Chicago World’s Fair in 1893 celebrated the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the New World in 1492. The Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria Come to the World’s Columbian Exposition During the fair, replicas of the Nina, the Pinta, … Read more »
Compliance Bits and Pieces for October 8
Here are some interesting compliance related stories that I’ve run into recently: Birthday Parties Not Enough to Support Inference of Discrimination; Shifting Reasons for Termination Get Case to Jury Though by Dan Schwartz in the Connecticut Employment Law Blog First, beware the birthday parties. They may be good morale boosters but some people may find … Read more »
Save Your Company, Save Yourself
What happens when you have a business disaster on your resume? Maybe listing an Enron or WorldCom would not be so bad. Those companies are big enough that you may not be tainted by the corporate fraud. Unless you ended up in handcuffs. As the company gets smaller, you’re more likely to get caught in … Read more »
Real Estate, China and the FCPA
China is hotbed for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The real estate industry is not immune from the dangers. In February of 2009 Morgan Stanley’s real estate group reported an employee based in China in an overseas real estate subsidiary that appeared to have violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. My company has … Read more »
Revoking a Subscription Agreement
Private equity funds investors sign a subscription agreement, promising to deliver cash when the fund makes a capital call. In a recent Delaware case, investors sought to revoke their subscription agreements and recover their capital contribution. They were investors in a Lehman Brothers sponsored investment fund. In 2007 the three plaintiffs became limited partners in … Read more »
Embarrassment from the American Bar Association
As the head of compliance, I frequently call on a team of lawyers for advice on how to interpret the law and move that interpretation into implementation. As a consumer of legal services, I have an interest in innovation and improvements in the delivery of those services. As an former practicing lawyer, I understand the … Read more »
Compliance Bits and Pieces for October 1
Here are some recent compliance-related stories that I found interesting: The face of the financial crisis by Larry Ribstein in the Creative Destroyer We need somebody we can send off to jail. Jail apparently provides the moral clarity necessary to wrap up a financial crisis. Bernie Madoff’s just an old-fashioned fraud from another era. The … Read more »
Materials from Social Media Policies
As a follow-up to my presentation on social media polices at the Virtual Corporate Counsel Forum, I’m publishing the slide deck and links to some of the items I discussed. Social Media Policies Download the Slidedeck: ALM social media policy FTC Action against Ann Taylor FTC Action Against Reverb SEC Guidance on the Use of … Read more »
Organized Labor and Social Media Policies
While preparing for my presentation today on social media policies, I came a cross this great article by Seth Borden: Labor Disputes Arising out of Social Media. Having organized labor in your workforce will complicate the creation and enforcement of a social media policy. Potential unionizing activities offer similar problems. Employers must consider traditional labor … Read more »