The last three years have seen an exponential increase in corporate implosions. The defalcations at Enron, WorldCom, HealthSouth, Ahold, Parmalat and countless other global companies have produced:
Stringent new legislation, in the form of Sarbanes-Oxley;
A plethora of new rules and regulatory requirements from the SEC, the NYSE and Nasdaq;
A spate of prosecutions and enforcement actions by the DOJ, SEC and some state prosecutors intent on acquiring higher office; and
An increase in the number of private class actions instituted and the dollar amounts required to settle those cases.
In the wake of these scandals and the legislative, regulatory, prosecutorial ...