Dallas Attorney Defends Against Executive Malfeasance & Director Employment Liability

What is corporate malfeasance?

Corporate or executive malfeasance is an illegal act or illegal acts by a company or its employees that use the resources of the company to achieve illegal goals. Corporate malfeasance can arise through many different means and actions. For instance, the fraud and embezzlement committed by Jeffrey Skilling and Kenneth Lay at Enron could constitute intentional malfeasance. Corporate malfeasance can also arise through inaction, for example, by failing to monitor important performance metrics: income, expenses, debt to asset ratio and more. Certain corporate positions require mandatory reporting of crimes and improprieties. For instance, corporate boards typically have a fiduciary duty to shareholders to perform due diligence and make thoroughly considered investments. For 35 years, Steve Kardell, attorney, has protected managers and executives from director liability.

What are the penalties for corporate malfeasance?

The penalties for corporate malfeasance can vary significantly based on the crime and the actual act. Typically, penalties are greater for intentional malfeasance than they are for those arising through inaction. What is important to note, however, is that penalties can apply to the individual employee and the company. For instance, in the Enron scandal, Skilling and Lay were both sentenced to lengthy prison terms for multiple federal felony charges, including conspiracy, insider trading, making false statements to auditors and security fraud. In terms of corporate board inaction leading to improprieties, legal penalties are less serious, but could involve the loss of a related professional license — or your personal tax refund may be frozen until the IRS claim against your organization is resolved.

Why do I need an attorney who is also experienced in internal investigations?

The corporate internal investigation has become ubiquitous when issues of corporate malfeasance are involved. Assuming the issues raised are significant, any executive whistleblower will likely be subjected to this process even if he or she did not commit any fraud, embezzlement or other bad act. The standard procedures implemented in the corporate internal investigation will likely be stressful to the whistleblower because of their personal and professional nature — and their potential impact on the whistleblower’s career. In fact, compliance attorneys, officers and others in the field routinely term executives caught in this process and terminated as “roadkill.”

Contact our Dallas-Fort Worth firm today for assistance with corporate malfeasance issues

Corporate malfeasance inquiries are particularly dangerous due to the potential criminal penalties connected with them. Furthermore, even inaction can result in legal culpability. Attorney Steve Kardell can protect your career and freedom and pursue damages. Please contact our office today at 214-306-8045 or online .

Awards & Honors

Our Office

Dallas Office
4514 Cole Ave
#600
Dallas, Texas 75205
Phone: 214-306-8045
Fax: 469-729-9926

Testimonials

"Steve Kardell was terrific in representing me in some very adversarial discussions with Citigroup and also later represented me in my testimony before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission." -Richard Bowen, Citigroup Whistleblower
"Incredible knowledge of employee related concerns and equally brilliant knowledge of health care regulations, standards of practice. I would recommend this firm to anyone." -V.B.
"Reaching out to Steve Kardell was the best decision I made. His ability to provide immediate insight and direction was very powerful, and a huge relief during a very stressful time period. For anyone struggling with a whistleblower situation, I would highly recommend at least speaking with Steve. After a 10 minute call with him, I had a better understanding of what I was dealing with. Even better, he gave me some immediate hope. In the end Steve did a better job than I thought was possible. Steve was able to get in contact with people in my organization, that I didn’t have access to. Because of his years of experience, he already has contacts in many organizations in Dallas. The entire situation was handled peacefully. I was impressed by his ability to “keep the peace”–rather than creating a battle with the organization. The reason I didn’t reach out to a lawyer initially, was because I thought it would mean an immediate end to any hope of a positive relationship with the company. Steve was able to address my concerns, and in the end I was able to continue to work for them." -KS
"Never thought my career would end like it did after 30 years of service. I was part of the first round of the so called reduction of force. I asked myself how can I be part of this with 30 years of seniority. How did they pick these 90 plus employees? Now, the culture of this organization made you question every decision they made. It wasn’t what you knew it’s was a culture of who you know. Nonetheless, I did not accept their severance package. I immediately starting looking for an attorney who would take on my case. After the initial call to Steve I had hope again. He was open and honest about everything and reassured me he would do his best for me, and he did. I had an awesome outcome. Thanks Steve you’re the best." -S.S.