It can be lonely at the top for corporate executives—figuratively and, when the C-suite comes under investigation, legally.
Although executives may be inclined to view the general counsel as their ally, attorneys inside and outside the corporation represent only the company, not individual executives. The point may seem obvious to some, but it’s one that needs to be hammered home repeatedly, since statements executives make in apparent confidence can find their way into the hands of the Securities and Exchange Commission or other regulators, where risks of perjury mine the legal landscape.
