Face value: Where's the Lawyer?

摘要

"It is the best of times for general counsels and it is the worst of times." So paraphrases Ben Heineman, who has just given up the title of general counsel-though not necessarily the influence that came with it-at General Electric after nearly 17 years in which he became arguably the world's most admired in-house corporate lawyer and, it is said, its highest paid. He will remain at GE as "senior vice-president, law and public affairs". For the worst of times, look no further than the recent ethical crisis in corporate America. As Mr Heineman reminded the "in-house bar" at last week's General Counsel Roundtable hosted by The Economist and Corporate Board Member, some general counsels have been indicted and others accused of heading departments where there is credible evidence of malpractice and breach of fiduciary duties. Still others, he observed, are now "haunted by the question 'where were they?' as their enterprises literally collapsed in internal fraud and corruption".