Subprime Mess Great News For White-Collar Criminal Defense Bar?

The Recorder (appearing at Law.com) reports:

• From a fees standpoint, white-collar defense lawyers couldn't be blamed for casting hungry eyes at the subprime mortgage mess. Take New Century Financial Corp. In February, just as the mortgage meltdown began, the Orange County, Ca.-based subprime lender announced it would restate earnings by an as yet undetermined amount. That caught the Securities and Exchange Commission's attention. A federal grand jury in the Central District of California fired off a subpoena. That has quickly translated into a classic white-collar boondoggle, generating work for defense lawyers at multiple big firms.

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• The question on defense lawyers' minds beyond New Century is whether large-scale investigations will surface elsewhere in California. So far, they haven't. Defense lawyers chalk much of that up to the slow pace with which the government responds to any scandal du jour. When federal prosecutors do wade into the subprime mess, though, white-collar lawyers wonder whether they will merely ramp up simple fraud cases against brokers, or if more complicated investigations against subprime lenders and investment banks are in the offing.

For more, see Subprime Loans Could Yield Lots of Work for White-Collar Defense Lawyers.