On the heels of last week’s jury verdict in the Enron Task Force’s legacy case against former key Enron executives Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling, Gordon Smith, Christine Hurt and the rest of the blawgers over at the Conglomerate are hosting an online forum of legal scholars today and tomorrow to explore the issues relating to the use of criminal law as a corporate governance mechanism. In addition to Professors Smith and Hurt, Clear Thinkers favorites Larry Ribstein and Ellen Podgor are scheduled to participate, as well as University of Houston law professor and former law school dean, Nancy Rapoport.
Given the participants, this is likely to be a compelling discussion of the often troubling (and costly) implications of the government’s increasingly-aggressive criminalization of corporate agency costs. Be sure to check it out.
Houston's Clear Thinkers
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Tom K. —
Thanks for the heads up on the Conglomerate Enron Forum. What is your reaction to the post by John Kroger, a former prosecutor in the Enron Task Force?
Evan, my reaction to Kroger’s post is that, when a person makes false and unsupported assumptions, it is quite possible that such a person can come to false and unsupported conclusions.
Tom K. —
Well said. My reaction to Kroger’s post was that it provides elegant evidence of why so many thoughtful bloggers have been skeptical of the Enron prosecutions.
Evan, stay tuned. I’ll have more to say about Mr. Kroger’s blog post later.