Notable DC investigator, and friend of The Daily Caveat, Charles Pinck has started a new blog - one worth your time - especially for the history buffs among you. OSS Reborn is co-written by Charlie and his father, Dan Pinck and focuses on the history and legacy of the Office of Strategic Services, America's first organized intelligence organization.

I won't delve to much into the history of the OSS here but if you need an introduction I can recommend this book by Mark Lowenthal, which provides a scholarly account of the genesis of the organization (I was lucky enough to have Lowenthal as a professor eons ago).

Charlie is the president of the OSS Society, which as you might imagine, celebrates the history of the OSS. Interest in the group is very much a family - Father Dan Pinck, in addition to being a noted author, served in the OSS behind enemy lines in China during World War II.

If that kind of thing intrigues you, do check out OSS Reborn. Highly recommended reading.

-- MDT

Labels: Charles Pinck, corporate investigation, intelligence, OSS

Using the "funeral" of Conrad Black as the venue. Required reading...

-- MDT

Labels: corporate investigation, Mark Dann, prosecution, prosecution guidelines, Stoneridge, sub-prime mortgage

The passage of H.R. 3013, The Attorney Client Privilege Act of 2007, means we're one step further in the ongoing trench warfare between corporate entities and regulation. For background on the bill, check out this post from October 9, 2007. Strange bedfellows on this particular issue, to say the least.

-- MDT

Labels: attorney client privilege, corporate investigation, pre-trial agreements

New investigative journalism shop, ProPublic comes online.

And a little background on the founders...

-- MDT

Labels: corporate investigation, ProPublic, Salong, WSJ

Interesting stuff via Bloomberg. on pending legislation that would curb the power of prosecutors investigating corporate crime. The main tool that appears to be in jeopard of coming off the table is the ability of prosecutors to demand that companies under investigation offer up confidential information in talks with their lawyers - waiving attorney client privilege in order to win leniency in plea deals.

This is not exactly a new bill, as some version of it has been floating around for a year at least. and folks have been planning for the demise of the Thompson memo era for a long while now, basically since it was written. They got a boost recently when district court judge Lewis Kaplan of the Southern District of New York found fault with the DOJ's actions in its prosecution of a group of former KPMG executives, which as lead to renewed efforts to get a bill passed to protect the sanctity of attorney client privilege.

Investors, well...less so.

-- MDT

Labels: attorney client privilege, corporate investigation, legislation, pre-trial agreements, Thompson memo

Pretty interesting interview on the above subject featuring Mark J. Biros of Proskauer Rose and presented by The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel. Biros is a partner at Proskauer and co-head of the firm's DC office.

-- MDT

Labels: corporate investigation, SOX