Fine and Dandy

The late Illinois Senator, gravel-throated Everett Dirksen, is usually thought to be the source of the quote "a billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you're talking about real money."  It's not clear that he said it, but he might do so today were he to focus on the astronomical sums being paid out in fines by company after company after company.

For the most part, it's not necessary to name names; you know who you are (to quote another great source, Billy Crystal/Fernando).  But I'm truly dazzled, and not in a good way, by the never-ending stream of ginormous fines that so many of our premier companies are paying out.

Now I have no doubt that some of these fines are being paid in order to get rid of cases that the government has inappropriately brought but that won't go away otherwise.  I get that, and I certainly understand that it's hard to get Uncle Sam to drop a case that has generated huge expenditures of time, human resources and money, regardless of whether the case has merit.  On the other hand, the number and magnitude of these fines suggests that there's something going on.

More importantly, I'm greatly troubled by the notion that large fines are just another cost of doing business and that violations of law don't really carry any stigma because it happens to everyone.  That surely can't be a good thing.  I'm also troubled by the fact that the people responsible for the actions that generate the fines remain utterly unaccountable.  (OK, I know that corporations are people in the eyes of the law, but in this case the law really is an ass.)  And I'm really troubled by the fact that the shareholders, not those responsible for doing the dastardly deeds, are the ones who pay.  

A few years ago, when U.S. Judge Jed Rakoff decided not to approve a settlement for some of these reasons, he was called an outlier and worse.  I agreed with him then, and I'm pleased to see that his views are gaining some traction.  And some companies' tin ears (and other anatomical parts) may give further support to his position; just this week, a company that has paid out multiple billions in fines last year gave its CEO a big, fat increase in compensation.  Maybe it will turn out that the company has a justification for this, but on a quick basis it seems just plain wrong.  If this kind of thing keeps going on, sooner or later people and maybe even our legislatures and courts will put a stop to it.  

Lamm's LIterary Lyceum

Lawyers everywhere should run out and read "The Partner Track" by Helen Wan.  It's a novel about an Asian-American female lawyer who's about to make partner at a white shoe New York law firm.  It's lots of fun; even though the law firm in question is fictional, many of the firms referenced in the book are not, and those of us whose work has brought us in touch with that world will recognize - and laugh at - many of the clichéd phrases used in these firms.  However, the book has a darker side that speaks to the continuing prejudices against women and minorities that lingers after the fun read is over.  

And one slight appendix to my list of my favorite books of 2013:  In discussing the worst books of the year, I failed to mention my candidate for that title on the fiction side.  It was "Big Brother" by Lionel Shriver.  She's done some great stuff, but this book was preachy and stupid and offensive.  I'm profoundly unhappy to have bought and read it; that's about $25 and several hours that I'll never get back.