Sean M. Berkowitz (born 1967) is a former director of the Department of Justice's Enron Task Force. He prosecuted former employees of
Enron who were accused of
white collar crimes
The term "white-collar crime" refers to financially motivated, nonviolent or non-directly violent crime committed by individuals, businesses and government professionals. It was first defined by the sociologist Edwin Sutherland in 1939 as "a ...
, principally accounting
fraud
In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compens ...
. Most significantly, he was the lead prosecutor in the joint trial of
Kenneth Lay and
Jeffrey Skilling. In 2006, shortly after securing guilty verdicts against both, Berkowitz left the Department of Justice to become a partner at
Latham & Watkins LLP
Latham & Watkins LLP is an American multinational law firm. Founded in 1934 in Los Angeles, California, Latham is the second-largest law firm in the world by revenue. As of 2021, Latham is also one of the most profitable law firms in the worl ...
in Chicago.
Berkowitz was assigned to the Task Force in December 2003 from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois, where he led many high-profile prosecutions of white collar crime and corporate fraud. Prior to his five years at the
United States Department of Justice, Berkowitz worked for the law firm Katten Muchin Zavis, now Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, in
Chicago, Illinois.
Lay and Skilling trial
Berkowitz cross-examined
Jeffrey K. Skilling (Enron President and COO), sending the former CEO into a temper tantrum on the stand. He was also the ending voice for the prosecution as he concluded the government’s closing arguments to the jury by urging them to send a message to
Lay
Lay may refer to:
Places
*Lay Range, a subrange of mountains in British Columbia, Canada
*Lay, Loire, a French commune
*Lay (river), France
*Lay, Iran, a village
*Lay, Kansas, United States, an unincorporated community
People
* Lay (surname)
* ...
and Skilling that "you can’t buy justice, you have to earn it."
In his closing arguments, Berkowitz used a large black and white cardboard display with the word "truth" emblazoned on one side and "lies" on other side. "You get to decide whether they told truth or lies, black and white," he told the jury. "Don't let the defendants, with their high-paid experts and their lawyers, buy their way out of this," he said. "I'm asking you to send them a message that it's not all right. You can't buy justice; you have to earn it."
On May 25, 2006, after the jury found both Skilling and Lay guilty, Berkowitz scolded the Enron executives, saying that "you can't lie to shareholders, you can't put yourselves in front of your employees' interests. No matter how rich and powerful you are, you have to play by the rules." Berkowitz noted the
FBI spent five years investigating the Enron case and that his team spent many long nights working on the trial, warning other executives who think about committing fraud that "no matter how complicated or sophisticated a case may be, people like that stand ready to investigate."
Berkowitz also successfully defended Michael Sussman in the only prosecution brought by John Durham to have gone to trial. Sussman was accused of lying to the FBI that he represented the Hillary Clinton for President Campaign. The jury acquitted him in its second day of deliberation. Sussman had reported about potential connections between the Trump Organization and Russia.
Education
Berkowitz received his B.A. degree ''
summa cum laude
Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...
'' from
Tulane University (with a
Dean's Honor Scholarship
Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pub ...
) in 1989'' and received his
J.D. degree
cum laude
Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...
'' from
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States.
Each class ...
in 1992.
He was an avid and skilled high school debater at
Glenbrook North High School (class of 1985). He won the Glenbrook North Distinguished Alumnus Award on May 25, 2007.
Personal
Berkowitz married
Bethany McLean, a ''Vanity Fair'' magazine editor and one of the authors of the book ''
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room'', in May 2008.
References
External links
''Washington Post'' article on the Task ForceThe Enron homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berkowitz, Sean
American prosecutors
Enron scandal
Tulane University alumni
Harvard Law School alumni
Living people
1967 births
People associated with Latham & Watkins
Glenbrook North High School alumni