Post by jannikki on Dec 1, 2006 19:34:20 GMT -4
Former justice deputy would limit legal exposure
By Riva Froymovich
December 1, 2006
One guideline of the Thompson memorandum - the one compelling firms to release legal communications - should rarely be imposed, its author said yesterday, according to The New York Times.
Former Justice Department official Larry D. Thompson drafted the 2003 guidelines as a rubric for prosecutors to use when deciding a possible indictment for handling corporate misconduct in the aftermath of the Enron scandal.
Mr. Thompson's comments at a Washington conference at the Heritage Foundation, the conservative research group, were his first public interpretation and possibly a response to criticism that the guidelines are unconstitutional, the report said.
Mr. Thompson is now general counsel of PepsiCo Inc.
The Justice Department is beginning to draft a revision of the Thompson memorandum to clarify under what conditions legal communications would be disclosed, reports said.
The revision may include a provision for approval of disclosure from the highest levels of the Justice Department, reports said.
As the memorandum stands now, non-cooperative companies are more likely to be indicted, the report said.
www.investmentnews.com/news.cms?newsId=3056
By Riva Froymovich
December 1, 2006
One guideline of the Thompson memorandum - the one compelling firms to release legal communications - should rarely be imposed, its author said yesterday, according to The New York Times.
Former Justice Department official Larry D. Thompson drafted the 2003 guidelines as a rubric for prosecutors to use when deciding a possible indictment for handling corporate misconduct in the aftermath of the Enron scandal.
Mr. Thompson's comments at a Washington conference at the Heritage Foundation, the conservative research group, were his first public interpretation and possibly a response to criticism that the guidelines are unconstitutional, the report said.
Mr. Thompson is now general counsel of PepsiCo Inc.
The Justice Department is beginning to draft a revision of the Thompson memorandum to clarify under what conditions legal communications would be disclosed, reports said.
The revision may include a provision for approval of disclosure from the highest levels of the Justice Department, reports said.
As the memorandum stands now, non-cooperative companies are more likely to be indicted, the report said.
www.investmentnews.com/news.cms?newsId=3056