When news came down early on the morning of November 5, 2009, that Arthur Cutillo had been arrested on insider trading–related charges, Hugh Simons knew that he had to get his lawyers on the phone. Cutillo, a 33-year-old intellectual property associate at Ropes & Gray, had been rounded up in connection with the ballooning Galleon Group scandal, and charged with passing on information about Ropes-advised mergers to friends who were working indirectly for the hedge fund.
Simons, chief operating officer at Ropes & Gray, began his damage control efforts immediately. “As soon as we knew the clients involved, we reached out to them,” says Simons. “It’s important that they hear it from you first, rather than from anyone else. . . . [You want clients to] hear your voice, and that you are responsible and mature about it.”
