White Collar Crime program helps lawyers defend clients in cases involving antitrust, corruption, environmental crime, money laundering and more

In early March, at the 20th Annual National Institute on White Collar Crime [PDF] 2006, John Keker, of Keker & Van Nest in San Francisco, presented a paper on "Why Trials Matter." In it he said, "Probably the most obvious reason why trials matter is that without trials the law will not develop: trials provide the meat for appellate decisions." And further, "Trials expose incompetent or corrupt judges, judges who have no business playing the assigned role of 'neutral arbiter.'"

The National Institute brought together more than 1,100 lawyers, prosecutors, judges and members of the academic community from around the nation to focus on the area of white collar crime. Among the many continuing legal education offerings were programs on "Defending Corporations: Ways to Avoid Prosecution," "Misunderestimated: Environmental Crimes in the New Millennium" and "Dealing with Requests for E-discovery."

Presenting a "Checklist of Practical Considerations When Representing Targets of Criminal Antitrust Investigations," Kathleen M. Beasley and Jacqueline K. Shipchandler, of Haynes and Boone in Dallas, reminded lawyers in their first meeting with a client to "lay the groundwork early on to ensure that the client fully understands the degree to which criminal enforcement is the Antitrust Division's top priority." They urged lawyers to start with basics, map out the road ahead and walk the client through the investigative process.

Linda Drazga Maxfield, Willie Martin and Christine Kitchens, from the Office of Policy Analysis in the United States Sentencing Commission, offered "Just Punishment: Public Perceptions and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines," a research bulletin of attitudes toward a variety of crimes.

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