Wall Street’s e‐mail nightmare: What in‐house counsel at securities firms need to know to get ahead of the curve on e‐mail retention

Abstract

In light of the current investigations related to possible conflicts of interest involving Wall Street stock analysts, no general counsel at a securities firm needs to be reminded of e‐mail’s growing importance in litigation and regulatory investigations. Merrill Lynch paid a $100 million settlement to the State of New York based, in significant part, on damaging evidence culled from the e‐mail of its analysts, including its renowned Internet stock analyst Henry Blodget. New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer issued additional subpoenas to most of the major Wall Street firms, and parallel investigations are underway by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Citation

Burke, P. and Junk, D.L. (2002), "Wall Street’s e‐mail nightmare: What in‐house counsel at securities firms need to know to get ahead of the curve on e‐mail retention", Journal of Investment Compliance, Vol. 3 No. 1, pp. 31-43. https://doi.org/10.1108/joic.2002.3.1.31