NASHVILLE, Tenn.–What do the charges against Martha Stewart mean? Larry Soderquist, director of the Corporate And Securities Law Institute and professor of law at Vanderbilt University, can explain how difficult it is for a prosecutor to make the case for insider trading, and why a prosecutor might instead elect to bring other charges, such as obstruction of justice or securities fraud.
In the case of Martha Stewart, Soderquist answers the question of why the government is prosecuting this case so visibly, when other corporate violations seem so much more egregious: "They would have gone after her even prior to the Enron and WorldCom scandals. Securities fraud—especially insider trading—go to the heart of the integrity of the market. The government has to police fraud by people who appear to have inside information or ordinary people will not feel comfortable putting their money in the markets and the markets won’t be able to function."
Soderquist is one of the nation’s leading experts on securities and corporate law. He is author of Understanding the Securities Laws, which is a standard reference used throughout the country.
Media contact: Susanne Loftis, 615-322-NEWS, susanne.loftis@vanderbilt.edu