Over at White Collar Crime Blog, there's a post about another defendant accepting a deal and "turning state's evidence" in the KPMG tax shelter matter. The incriminating email is almost beyond belief -- except that we've seen so many insanely incriminating emails over the years that we've come to expect more of them.
My former law partner, Mark Ostrau, gave presentations on good email habits and devised what he called the "Green Eggs and Ham Test." Even good, honest people write emails that are begging to be twisted out of context. The point was to think about whether you'd like your emails to wind up in the hand of your competitor (call them Brand X), the press, administrative agencies, or plaintiff's lawyers. So before sending emails, one asks:
Would you like this in the press?
Would you like this at Brand X?
Like to read it on the stand?
Like it in the government's hand?