Both the bar and the media have been polarized by the recent indictment of Arthur Andersen, with some feeling it was justified and others regarding it as a gross abuse of prosecutorial power. Yet, it is gradually becoming clear that we do not yet understand what actually happened.
According to recent reports in The New York Times, the Justice Department indicated a willingness to discuss a “deferred prosecution” of Arthur Andersen, but Andersen rejected it because it would entail a reputation-damaging admission of guilt. Other reports instead put the blame on the government. The real issue, however, is whether such a disposition now makes sense.
