News & Events

On September 30th, 2009, in conjunction with ALM Law Journal Newsletters and Law.com, Morvillo Abramowitz Principals Jonathan S. Sack, Barry A. Bohrer, Robert M. Radick, and Judith Mogul presented a live CLE “webinar” concerning common issues arising in connection with regulatory and governmental investigations. The topics discussed included the ethical and statutory obligations of in-house counsel, practical considerations relating to internal investigations and the retention of investigative counsel, and common issues concerning the attorney-client privilege and dealings with governmental authorities. Information regarding the presentation is available here.

On August 4, 2009, the Honorable Avern Cohn, United States District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, ordered the dismissal, with prejudice, of all charges against our client, Scot McDonald, in Securities and Exchange Commission v. Delphi Corporation, et. al., 2:06-cv-14891-AC-SDP.  Mr. McDonald, the former Controller of EDS Corporation, had been charged by the SEC with aiding and abetting violations of Sections 13(a), 13(b) and 10(b) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1933, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder.  These charges stemmed from a fraud allegedly committed by Delphi Corporation and various Delphi employees in 2001.  Throughout the SEC’s investigation and the subsequent litigation, we argued that Mr. McDonald did not aid and abet Delphi’s purported fraud, and did not violate the law in any way.  During discovery, the SEC ultimately concluded that its case against Mr. McDonald should be dismissed.  Thus, on August 3, 2009, the SEC agreed to dismiss all charges against Mr. McDonald. 

On June 23, 2009, Morvillo Abramowitz Principal Barbara Moses presented a portion of the New York County Lawyers' Association CLE program, "Winning Cases in Federal Court."  Ms. Moses is a Director of NYCLA and has served on the "Winning Cases" faculty since 2007.

On May 15, 2009, Morvillo Abramowitz Principal Robert J. Anello will conduct a CLE program for the New York State Bar Association  at the New York Mariott East Side at 525 Lexington Avenue.  The topic to be discussed is International Practice after the Great Credit Crisis of 2008-2009.  Information regarding the CLE is available here.

On May 6, 2009, Morvillo Abramowitz Principal Jonathan S. Sack will participate in a panel discussion on the "Nuts and Bolts of Corporate Investigations" as part of the ABA's National Institute on Corporate Investigations and In-House Counsel in Washington, D.C.  The topics to be discussed will include what allegations should trigger an investigation, how to structure the investigation, how to conduct the investigation and how to finalize the investigation.  Information regarding the webinar is available here. 

On January 29, 2009, in conjunction with ALM Law Journal Newsletters and Law.com, Morvillo Abramowitz Principals Jonathan S. Sack, Stephen M. Juris, Judith Mogul, and Richard D. Weinberg will present a live CLE “webinar” concerning issues that frequently arise when representing employees in connection with internal and governmental investigations.  The topics to be discussed will include the basics of corporate internal investigations, advocacy on behalf of employees and executives with corporate counsel, ethical issues associated with internal investigations and the retention of counsel, and other issues that commonly arise in connection with governmental inquiries.  Information regarding the webinar is available here.

Today’s dismissal of all charges against David Stockman demonstrates what we have been arguing throughout this case:  he is innocent.  When Mr. Stockman was indicted, we said that there was no crime here and that Mr. Stockman would be vindicated.  As we pointed out then, the charges simply did not make sense.  Mr. Stockman would never have jeopardized his reputation by engaging in a scheme to defraud. 

The past few years have been a terrible ordeal for Mr. Stockman.  Fortunately, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York was willing to reconsider the case and our arguments, and should be commended for its commitment to justice.  Now, as we predicted, Mr. Stockman, and his reputation, have been vindicated.

In a cover article for its August 2008 edition, UK business magazine ACQ has profiled Morvillo Abramowitz as the “go-to”  firm for white collar defense. The full article may be found here.

On August 7, 2008, in conjunction with ALM Law Journal Newsletters and Law.com, Morvillo Abramowitz Principals Jonathan S. Sack, Barry A. Bohrer, Stephen M. Juris, and Judith Mogul presented a live CLE “webinar” concerning common issues arising in connection with regulatory and governmental investigations.  The topics discussed included the ethical and statutory obligations of in-house counsel, practical considerations relating to internal investigations and the retention of investigative counsel, and common issues concerning the attorney-client privilege and dealings with governmental authorities.  Information regarding the presentation is available here.

On July 14, 2008, Morvillo Abramowitz Principals Robert J. Anello and Catherine M. Foti received the New York City Bar Association’s 2008 Thurgood Marshall Award for Capital Representation. The award is presented annually in recognition of exemplary service to the cause of justice in the United States, and was awarded to Mr. Anello and Ms. Foti for their pro bono representation of an individual on death row. Morvillo Abramowitz also was recognized for supporting its attorneys in their pro bono work.

On July 1, 2008, Morvillo Abramowitz Principal Stephen M. Juris participated in C5’s London conference concerning Market Abuse & Insider Dealing. Mr. Juris discussed the tensions between corporate and individual interests that commonly arise in connection with internal investigations and governmental inquiries.

On June 2, 2008, Morvillo Abramowitz principal Barbara Moses served on the faculty of the New York County Lawyers’ Association program, “Winning Cases in Federal Courts.” Ms. Moses’s topic was “Commencing an Action in Federal Court.”

Morvillo Abramowitz Principals Barbara Moses, Jodi Peikin, Catherine Foti and Judy Mogul appeared in “New York’s Women Leaders in the Law” in New York Magazine.

The section is featured online on New York Magazine’s web site at nymag.com/womenleaders, on the New York Law Journal’s web site at www.nylj.com/womenleaders

On April 10, 2008, Morvillo, Abramowitz Principals Barry A. Bohrer, Stephen M. Juris, and Jonathan S. Sack conducted a CLE program for JPMorgan Chase concerning issues that commonly arise in the context of governmental investigations relating to the valuation of illiquid securities, and have been raised with increasing frequency as regulators react to investment banks’ writedowns of mortgage-backed securities. Using the recent subprime crisis as a backdrop, Messrs. Bohrer, Juris, and Sack discussed the various types of potential liability under the securities laws, as well as practical considerations concerning the role of corporate counsel and the representation of individual employees.

On March 6, 2008, Morvillo Abramowitz Principal Jeremy H. Temkin spoke on the Criminal and Regulatory Fallout of the Subprime Meltdown at the Subprime-Backed Securities Litigation Conference. The conference was sponsored by LexisNexis Mealey’s, and was held at the Harvard Club of New York City.

On November 27, 2007, Morvillo Abramowitz Principal Robert G. Morvillo Chaired an ethics program at the Association of the Bar of the City of New York dealing with the ethical problems that typically arise during the course of criminal investigations and cases. Conflicts of interest, document destruction, and false representations will be discussed as examples of conduct presenting ethical dilemmas.

On October 30, 2007, Morvillo Abramowitz Principal Robert J. Anello Co-Chaired an ethics program at the Association of the Bar of the City of New York focusing on issues of professional responsibility that affect corporate counsel on a daily basis. Specific topics addressed included “Corporate Miranda” warnings, special problems concerning the representation of employees in internal investigations, the risks associated with waiver of the attorney-client privilege, and new developments regarding the “no contact” rule.