Where Do They Have The Victory Party?

The Wall Street Journal captures the essence of the Arthur Andersen conviction being overturned by the Supreme Court in a unanimous decision...

As a unanimous Supreme Court yesterday announced its reversal of the 2002 criminal conviction of Arthur Andersen for shredding Enron-related documents, our first thought was: Now they tell us. Or, as former Reagan Labor Secretary Ray Donovan famously asked after his acquittal in 1987: "Which office do I go to to get my reputation back?"

Except that in this case, even if the proverbial office existed, there is no one left at Andersen to knock on the front door and demand restitution. The accounting giant, which once employed 28,000 people in the U.S. and 85,000 world-wide, is essentially no more. There's still an office in Chicago, but the fewer than 200 people who work there handle leftover legal and administrative chores and manage a bit of real estate.

The scapegoating of Andersen was an utter joke, and my opinion in the matter has little to do with the fact that I once worked there, back in the mid-90's. It does have something to do with the fact that it cost many good people (including some close friends) their jobs, but most if not all landed on their feet and are doing well today.

In the end, it was little more than political scapegoating, and it was embarrassing as well. The costs were absurd, and little was gained. Sounds like a government program, don't it?