Lathrop B. Nelson, III
Visit Attorney ProfileFollow Lathrop B. Nelson, III on Twitter
Third Circuit OK’s In Camera Interview of Lawyer to Establish Crime-Fraud Exception
The attorney-client privilege is sacrosanct – “the oldest of the privileges for confidential communications known to the common law,” Upjohn Co. v. United States, 449 U.S. 383, 389 (1981) – yet when the attorney’s advice is used to commit a crime, the privilege evaporates. Under… Read More
DOJ Increasing Activity over Foreign Bank Accounts: Lessons from the Beanie Babies Founder’s Prosecution
H. Ty Warner, the billionaire creator of the popular Beanie Babies, was sentenced on Tuesday to two years of probation for tax evasion. The one-time top toy tycoon pleaded guilty to a single count of felony tax evasion in October 2013, acknowledging that he failed… Read More
Did Penn State’s General Counsel Fumble by Appearing at the Grand Jury Appearances of its Officers?
With the announcement by Penn State that it has hired James Franklin as its new head football coach, the university has taken yet another step on the field away from the Jerry Sandusky scandal. But the fallout continues in the courtroom with the prosecution of… Read More
Update: Second Circuit Limits Government’s “Stream of Payments” Statute of Limitations Theory
Last week, White Collar Alert editor Erin Dougherty reported on the Second Circuit’s unusual summary order reversing the convictions of three former General Electric Co. executives for bid rigging. Yesterday, in a 2-1 decision, the Second Circuit confirmed the expected basis for the reversal, holding… Read More
Did A-Rod Take an Intentional Walk to Prevent Perjury Risk?
Last Wednesday, November 20th, Alex Rodriguez, widely considered one of baseball’s greats, walked out of his arbitration proceeding challenging his 211 game suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s performance enhancing drug (“PED”) policy. If the suspension is upheld, A-Rod’s will be the longest non-lifetime suspension… Read More
Elle Woods on Criminal Intent: Ninth Circuit Requires Specific Intent for Criminal Copyright Infringement
In the movie Legally Blonde, upon assuming the role of lead defense counsel in the murder trial of her sorority sister, the heroine Elle Woods sought to skip the examination of a key witness and instead jump straight into an argument regarding her client’s criminal… Read More
The “Effects” of Fraud that “Affect” a Financial Institution
The Department of Justice has recently dusted off the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 (“FIRREA”) – enacted following the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s to protect financial institutions from fraud – as an offensive weapon against financial institutions themselves.… Read More