NEW YORK — Goldman Sachs Group Inc. confirmed Monday that its chief executive, Lloyd Blankfein, and other executives hired outside lawyers to advise them after the U.S. Senate referred a report on the bank’s activities to the Justice Department earlier this year.
A person familiar with the situation confirmed that Blankfein hired Reid Weingarten, a top criminal-defense attorney at Steptoe & Johnson who has represented former WorldCom Inc. ‘s CEO Bernard Ebbers, former Enron accounting officer Rich ard Causey and former Tyco International Ltd. general counsel Mark Belnick.
Weingarten wasn’t immediately available to comment.
The bank said Blankfein and other executives retained counsel after a Senate report about Wall Street’s securitization activities during the crisis was referred to the Justice Department. Goldman is paying the bills of the outside lawyers, according to a person familiar with the situation.
“As is common in such situations, Blankfein and other individuals who were expected to be interviewed in connection with the Justice Department’s inquiry into certain matters raised in the (Senate) report hired counsel at the outset,” said Goldman spokesman David Wells.
Goldman faces multiple investigations and subpoenas on federal, state and local levels, but it isn’t clear why Blankfein hired a lawyer who focuses on white-collar criminal defense.
Attorneys who specialize in criminal law say it isn’t unusual for a corporate executive to hire outside counsel in this manner.
