High Profile Cases
Big Time Lawyer Enters Dodgers Divorce Battle
Posted by: David Ring
March 10, 2010
David Boies is a big-time lawyer who represented Al Gore in the 2000 Presidential Election litigation and he also beat Microsoft in an anti-trust lawsuit. Boies is now entering the Dodgers divorce fray on behalf of Jamie McCourt. Boies isn't a divorce lawyer. He's more of a business litigator. His retention by Jamie McCourt signals that she's going all-out to extract either an ownership interest in the Dodgers from estranged husband Frank or at least a huge financial payday to back off the ownership demand.
Boies recently handled the trial on behalf of proponents of gay marriage in California in the Proposition 8 case that is near conclusion in San Francisco federal court. By all accounts, Boies did a masterful job at that trial.
Can this Dodger divorce get any nastier? You bet. The fun has only begun.
Remember Enron?
Posted by: David Ring
March 02, 2010
It seems like ages ago that Enron, one of the largest, most respected, and most profitable corporations in America, collapsed in 2001 amid a massive accounting scandal. It turned out that Enron had actually lost a fortune trading in complex derivative securities but hid those losses in even more complex, off-the-balance-sheet companies.
After a high-profile trial in Houston (where Enron's headquarters were located, and where many folks who worked at Enron lost their jobs and their life savings since all of their 401k and pension investments were in Enron stock), top executive Jeffrey Skilling was convicted of a variety of securities crimes and sentenced to 24 years in prison. Another top exectutive, Kenneth Lay, died from a massive heart attack after the trial and before he went to prison.
This week, Skilling's lawyers argued before the U.S. Supreme Court in their attempt to obtain a new trial or at least a reduced sentence for Skilling. The Supremes appeared receptive to some of the arguments, particularly those involving a very vague fraud statute that Skilling was found guilty of violating and also the fact the trial was held in Houston, rather than a more impartial venue.
On its face, Skilling's 24-year prison sentence seems excessive, especially with the passage of time and the subsequent meltdown of so many other major companies, financial institutions, banks, and real estate firms in the past few years for similar misdeeds. The Supremes are likely to cut him a break.
Nancy Kissel Murder Conviction Overturned
Posted by: David Ring
February 19, 2010
In what had to be the equivalent of a "hail mary" pass that was caught in the end zone for the winning score, convicted murderer Nancy Kissel convinced a Hong Kong appellate court to give her a new trial in the high profile case in which she was accused of killing her husband while they lived in Hong Kong with other wealthy American expatriates.
The case was the subject of a great book by Joe McGinniss a few years back. Nancy was portrayed as a materialistic, selfish wife who moved to Hong Kong with her husband, Robert Kissel, a successful investment banker. They lived the high-life in Hong Kong, along with other Americans who worked for U.S.-based financial institutions there. But Nancy soon started an affair with an average Joe when she went back to the U.S. to visit. She then plotted her husband's death in Hong Kong, eventually using a drug-laced milkshake to render him unconscious so she could then beat him over the head with a heavy object. She then rolled him up in a carpet and left him in her apartment, where he was soon discovered.
She was convicted in Hong Kong's trial court and sentenced to life in prison. She appealed - and recently won. The Hong Kong appellate court found errors with the introduction of certain evidence that was used against her at trial. What's this mean? It means another high-profile re-play of the murder trial again. And maybe Joe McGinniss will have to re-write the ending of the book at some point down the road.
L.A. Dodgers Owners Continue To Duke It Out
Posted by: David Ring
February 19, 2010
Frank and Jamie McCourt are in the midst of one nasty divorce. Of course, this is news because either one or both of them own the Dodgers and their financial situation has a direct impact on that baseball franchise. Based on the evidence to date, it seems like Frank has the better claim that he solely owns the Dodgers and that Jamie was a high-ranking "employee" of the team until he canned her last year. (You gotta love the husband firing his soon-to-be-ex-wife from her job!)
However, Jamie is not going quietly. She now is seeking almost $1 million in monthly (that's right - monthly!) financial spousal support. That's the equivalent of a few utility infielders for the season. She won't get that much, but knows you have to start high in the negotiations, right?
The divorce documents filed in court by Jamie continue to throw mud on Frank and how he has run the Dodgers - allegations that the two adult sons are on the payroll for over half a million dollars, and that Frank uses the Dodgers' finances as his own personal bank. True? Who knows. But look for more dirt as this nasty battle continues into Spring Training.
The End Is Near For Nancy Kissel
Posted by: David Ring
January 23, 2010
If you want to read an outstanding "true crime" book, look no farther than "Never Enough" by the famous author Joe McGinniss (author of Fatal Vision, among others). The book chronicles the murder of Robert Kissel by his wife, Nancy, while living in Hong Kong.
Robert was a big-time financier working for Goldman Sachs and then Merrill Lynch while living with his family as expatriates in Hong Kong. Nancy's life apparently wasn't fulfilling enough, so she had an affair with an electrician while visiting her hometown in Vermont and then plotted to kill her husband back in Hong Kong. She succeeded, using the infamous "milkshake" concoction of various drugs, which rendered Robert unconscious. Then, Nancy clubbed him over the head with a statue. The 2005 Hong Kong trial was closely followed. Nancy was convicted. Her last appeal was just argued in the final court of appeal in Hong Kong. If she loses, she will remain imprisoned in Hong Kong for life.
The couple in happier times:
