Andersen Update

Andersen has entered a plea of not guilty to the charges and needs an early trial and not guilty verdict to stand any chance of remaining in business under it's own steam.

Federal District Judge Melinda Hamilton, who will preside over the trial, confirmed that it will start on May 6th. The judge also expressed her hope that it would last no more than 3 weeks and has indicated that participants may need to work longer each day, and even on Saturdays.

In a related story, many of the 4,700 partners of the embattled firm are going to have to get used the idea of sustaining reductions in their net worth. Like all major accounting firms, Andersen mandates that partners put money into the business each year - usually between $50,000 and $250,000 dollars. The partner becomes a co-owner of the business. That is great in the good times, but right now all those funds are in jeopardy and are likely to be swallowed up by claims from Enron shareholders and federal regulators.