When severe breaches of corporate integrity or ethics occur, corporations first look for their available options and often receive conflicting advice. Personal motivations of executives and directors frequently conflict directly with fiduciary responsibilities. Corporate lawyers who are incredibly skilled in law and risk management in many cases have never themselves had line profit-and-loss responsibility. Clear commercial perspective and intimate knowledge of technical finance are crucial. Timing of decisions is critical.

Case Summary

The client, an international financial services firm and a well-known name on Wall Street for a century, experienced organizational and leadership difficulties following the turmoil of the 1990s and a round of major acquisitions. Monticello Capital was engaged to advise the audit committee chairman and the chairman of the board in three areas: effective corporate governance oversight, necessary structural and personnel changes among the senior executives, and cost organization of the firm for effective compliance. A division divestiture resulted, with executive personnel changes, the discovery of correctible wrongdoing, and an eventual successful restructuring of the holding company.