Backdating Scandal Hits In-House Counsel Hard

Among all the cases of white-collar abuse to hit the U.S. in the past 10 years, it is the fallout from the recent backdating share options scandal that has rocked the in-house world and seen an unprecedented number of general counsel given the chop. While previous scandals have, for the most part, hit chief executives and financial directors, a series of investigations has put general counsel firmly and uncomfortably in the spotlight. By the end of 2006, at least 15 senior corporate counsels had exited their jobs in the wake of backdating investigations. The scandal has unfolded rapidly. The row over backdating share options can be traced back to 2005 and the publication of a paper by an academic at the University of Iowa, professor ERIK LIE.

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