Former Enron GC Jim Derrick defended his relationship with his former law firm, Vinson & Elkins, as he took the stand in the trial of his former bosses Jeffrey Skilling and Kenneth Lay April 6.

Prosecutors quizzed Derrick at length about the company's response to a memo from Sherron Watkins, the Enron vice president who warned Lay of financial improprieties. Derrick said he hired Vinson & Elkins to look into the allegations because the firm's familiarity with Enron would expedite the investigation.

Dismissing Watkins' contention that Vinson & Elkins should have been excluded because of its prior work for the company, Derrick said it was the law firm's responsibility to decline the assignment if it felt a conflict of interest existed. He also said he never checked on the firm's progress or steered it in any direction.

“I certainly did not want to be perceived as influencing the investigation,” he said.

Seeking to show close ties with his former firm, prosecutors produced a December 1997, e-mail from a Vinson & Elkins attorney referring to “Jolly Jim Derrick with a bag of year-end deals” that made the firm's financials “sparkle.”

Derrick acknowledged that Vinson &Elkins collected $30 to $40 million in fees annually from Enron in the two years prior to the bankruptcy. But he said he had also brought in other firms–a total of 100 around the world.

“I'm not sure that Vinson & Elkins would have been particularly enamored of the fact that I instituted those policies,” he said.

Former Enron GC Jim Derrick defended his relationship with his former law firm, Vinson & Elkins, as he took the stand in the trial of his former bosses Jeffrey Skilling and Kenneth Lay April 6.

Prosecutors quizzed Derrick at length about the company's response to a memo from Sherron Watkins, the Enron vice president who warned Lay of financial improprieties. Derrick said he hired Vinson & Elkins to look into the allegations because the firm's familiarity with Enron would expedite the investigation.

Dismissing Watkins' contention that Vinson & Elkins should have been excluded because of its prior work for the company, Derrick said it was the law firm's responsibility to decline the assignment if it felt a conflict of interest existed. He also said he never checked on the firm's progress or steered it in any direction.

“I certainly did not want to be perceived as influencing the investigation,” he said.

Seeking to show close ties with his former firm, prosecutors produced a December 1997, e-mail from a Vinson & Elkins attorney referring to “Jolly Jim Derrick with a bag of year-end deals” that made the firm's financials “sparkle.”

Derrick acknowledged that Vinson &Elkins collected $30 to $40 million in fees annually from Enron in the two years prior to the bankruptcy. But he said he had also brought in other firms–a total of 100 around the world.

“I'm not sure that Vinson & Elkins would have been particularly enamored of the fact that I instituted those policies,” he said.