Boris Becker - Interesting Plea for Mercy

 "Defense attorney Jonathan Laidlaw [for Boris Becker] argued for leniency, saying his client hadn't spent money on a 'lavish lifestyle' but rather on child support, rent and legal and business expenses. Becker, he told the court, has experienced 'public humiliation' and has no future earnings potential." - ESPN, April 29, 2022.

Was that defense argument effective with Judge Deborah Taylor in the London Southwark Crown Court? That depends on how Becker assessed the 2 and a half year sentence he received. 

The jury found that the 54-year-old former tennis star had played it cute during his June 2017 bankruptcy. Essentially he had transferred thousands of pounds from a number of his accounts to where he hoped they couldn't be detected. That stealth move included putting his ex-wife and an estranged one in the loop.

Connect with Editor-in-Chief Jane Genova at janegenova374@gmail.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Law Firm as Social Institution

 The global values revolution has reached beyond corporations and non-profits to the law firm. DAVIS POLK TODAY, BEFORE THAT MAYER BROWN Today, the Asia chairperson of Davis Polk Martin Rogers didn't speak, as originally scheduled, at a Hong Kong forum on the national security law. As the Hong Kong Free Press reports, the law firm had been hammered for planning to participate in what was perceived as supporting a violation of human rights. Earlier, Mayer Brown also had been a target of global censure for representing Hong Kong University in its initiative to remove the Tiananmen Square memorial. It went through the wringer. A MAJOR MEDIA STORY So, it's no surprise that what lawyers at major law firms are doing for social justice is receiving sustained media attention. An example are the partners and chairperson at Paul Weiss. LORETTA LYNCH AT HARVARD LAW SCHOOL COMMENCEMENT As Reuters Legal reports, in delivering the commencement speech at Harvard Law School, Paul We...
Read more

The Extreme Trauma of Mergers

  Mergers, as all of us know, can be brutal on the manpower. Common is being designated as "redundant." Also, the whole category of a kind of job can disappear. That's exactly what's playing out in the UK as BLM merges into Clyde & Co. RollonFriday  reports that at the new entity there is no role which is compatible with the present job of salaried partner at BLM. At BLM there are about 140 salaried partners, as well as 40 to 50 equity ones. The function of Clyde & Co. salaried partner is different. The deal will be done on July 1st. So, the major challenge for current BLM salaried partners is to apply, if they want to stay in that game, for opportunities at Clyde & Co. There are several options. One is become what is called "Legal Director."  Mergers are a monster to navigate even in the situations which can be favorable to employees, at least some of them. The latter can land a big break. This particular one seems like a horror. Of course, it i...
Read more

Timing Is Just Right for US Government to Create The Ministry of Magic

The good versus evil meme plays out over control of the Ministry of Magic. That's the delightful plot and setting for the latest sequel in the "Fantastic Beasts" film series. This one has the subtitle "Secrets of Dumbledore." The good side is represented by Albus Dumbledore and the evil one by Gellert Grindelwald. What hangs this all together is the need to protect the mystical creature Qilin  which can see into souls and foresee the future. Meanwhile Grindelwald has conjured up a fraudulent version of the  Qilin.  Magic, of course, is the way problems are solved and opportunities are seized in the film. Those on the Dumbledore team use white magic. Those on Grindelwald's the toxic kind. But, white magic wins, thanks to the ability to get the  Qilin  to the election to select what leader is pure of heart. Along the way the displays of fanastic whatevers, including the beasts, are amazing. And, like a Shakespearean comedy, the film ends with a wedding. Al...
Read more