Alison Frankel

A couple of cases from the last few years drove home that lesson. Proskauer Rose represented Allen Stanford’s Stanford Financial as the Ponzi scheme collapsed. Proskauer partner Thomas Sjoblom was in the room with Stanford Financial’s chief investment officer, Laura Pendergest-Holt, when she was interviewed by the SEC in 2009. Sjoblom told the SEC that he was representing the company, not Pendergest-Holt. But she ended up indicted for lying to investigators and obstructing justice based on that SEC interview. Pendergest-Holt turned around and sued Sjoblom and Proskauer, asserting that she was never told the firm wasn’t representing her. Sjoblom subsequently resigned from Proskauer. (Proskauer’s spokesman didn’t return my call.)

In another case, Irell & Manella represented Broadcom in an internal investigation of its stock options backdating practices. As part of that investigation, Irell lawyers interviewed Broadcom CFO William Ruehle. Irell was simultaneously representing Ruehle in two securities suits, and, he later said that he believed Irell was his counsel. But it wasn’t: when Broadcom decided to cooperate with prosecutors, Irell turned over its notes of the Ruehle interview. Ruehle was indicted and (among other things) blamed Irell for misleading him. The trial judge in Ruehle’s case, Cormac Carney, blasted Irell for breaching its duty to Ruehle, though the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit later cleared the firm of wrongdoing. (Judge Carney eventually tossed charges against Ruehle for other reasons.)

So Sullivan & Cromwell and Blankfein are both better off now that the CEO’s interests are protected by another lawyer, even if Blankfein only brought in counsel for an interview with DOJ investigators. In that regard, we shouldn’t assume that Weingarten’s entrance necessarily bodes ill for Goldman or Blankfein. Goldman told Reuters Monday that this is entirely routine: “As is common in such situations, Mr. Blankfein and other individuals who were expected to be interviewed in connection with the Justice Department’s inquiry into certain matters raised in the PSI report hired counsel at the outset,” the bank said.

Nevertheless, Blankfein’s choice of Weingarten is very intriguing. Weingarten is a great lawyer with close ties to the Justice Department, where he once worked in the Public Integrity section, and to Attorney General Eric Holder, whom he actually represented when Congress grilled Holder about President Bill Clinton’s eleven-hour pardon of financier Marc Rich. Weingarten is not, however, part of the club of white-collar defense counsel who typically get referrals from New York firms like S&C. (That group includes Andrew Levander of Dechert; Mary Jo White of Debevoise & Plimpton; Patricia Hynes of Allen & Overy; and Gary Naftalis of Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel, all of whom represent high-profile Wall Streeters in financial crisis cases.)

One white-collar defense lawyer who gets referrals from Wall Street firms told me it could be significant that Blankfein went outside the usual circle, turning to a lawyer best known for his trial work. “For many people, the choice of Reid Weingarten would be unusual to represent someone in a simple interview,” he said. “He’s often retained when an investigation is going to lead to a case that would go to trial.”

That unseen hand that guides the market, in other words, may turn out to be pretty smart.

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