“Lawyers and accountants who were once the proud pillars of our financial system have become the happy architects of its circumvention.”

This op-ed in the New York Times discusses the role of lawyers and attorneys and today’s approach in fee generation, specifically as it relates to what role outside professional firms played in the genesis of the 2008 financial crisis.

A couple recommendations from the op-ed writer:

1. “For starters, Congress should take a hard look at the doctrine of attorney-client privilege as it applies to corporations.”

2. “A second idea is for corporations to reassess their compensation practices for financial and legal executives. Just as some large businesses are moving to separate the position of board chairman from that of chief executive in order to provide for stronger governance, companies might also consider development of a new pay scheme for their financial and legal personnel.”