After two days of jury selection, the retrial of former Jenkens & Gilchrist partner Paul Daugerdas in a massive illegal tax shelter scandal is underway. Prosecutors and defense lawyers in Judge William Pauley's (See Profile) Southern District courtroom delivered opening statements to a jury Wednesday in what is expected to be a six-week trial for Daugerdas and former BDO Seidman Chief Denis Field, who are accused of marketing and giving legal cover for tax shelters that had no economic purpose save the avoidance of taxes.
Field, Daugerdas and two others, Donna Guerin, a former partner at Jenkens & Gilchrist and former banker David Parse of Deutsche Bank, were convicted in the scheme in 2011. But Pauley granted a retrial for Daugerdas, Field and Guerin because of juror misconduct by Catherine Conrad, a suspended lawyer who lied about her identity and criminal history during voir dire.
