Saturday, December 31, 2011

Candor to the tribunal: SEC, Citigroup and Judge Rakoff

Candor to the tribunal is the command of common sense and RPC 3.3.  In the high profile clash between District Judge Jed Rakoff and the SEC the agency did not inform the Court of Appeals from whom it sought an emergency stay that the judge had accelerated the briefing schedule and that a ruling by the trial judge was imminent.  Nor did Rakoff know that the SEC, with Citigroup's concurrence, had sought the emergency stay.  One minute before Rakoff issued an order denying the application the higher court granted the stay without the benefit of Rakoff's reasoning.

The trial court found the SEC and Citigroup's conduct to be "apparently materially misleading" and ordered the parties to provide the trial judge with a copy of all filings related to the application.  The disputed order is Rakoff's rejection of a settlement and direction that the SEC and Citigroup prepare for trial. h/t Stephen Gillers/Legal Ethics Forum
Judge Rakoff Order of December 29, 2011

'via Blog this'

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