When the U.S. Department of Justice charged former in-house lawyer Lauren Stevens with six felonies, it aimed to send a clear message that no one should lie to federal investigators—including lawyers. But the short and bitter trial that followed backfired. In the end it conveyed a message to both in-house counsel and prosecutors about the dangers of overzealousness.
On May 10, in a move that was as sudden as it was dramatic, a federal district court judge in midtrial acquitted the former in-house counsel at GlaxoSmithKline of all six counts. While Stevens and her lawyers celebrated with champagne, sources say the stunned prosecutors privately complained that the jury would have found Stevens guilty had the judge let the trial continue.
