Unless Fortune re verses, 59-year-old Joseph Collins, a former Mayer Brown partner, will be spending seven years in federal prison. He was convicted in January for participating in client Refco, Inc.’s financial fraud. It’s a tragic turn for the quiet, unassuming corporate lawyer who had never before been in serious trouble. And it raises a question—why, during an era of rampant corporate scandal and recklessness, did Collins end up as one of the very few big-firm lawyers to be prosecuted and convicted for financial crimes?
The answer–to the conviction part, anyway–is that Collins was convicted largely thanks to the testimony of other lawyers who worked across the table from him on deals involving the failed brokerage firm.
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