I was recently amused as I was directed to a site detailing “proposed [tag]ethics[/tag] opinions” for North Carolina [tag]lawyers[/tag]. This is no joke. It appears that the ethics rules will prohibit attorneys from handing out business cards, because people might actually give them to potential law firm clients. Do they mean to tell me… *gasp*…. that someone is afraid that an attorney may get a referral after a job well done? And for that very reason multiple business cards may not be handed out?

Apparently so. From the North Carolina State Bar website:

Say it fast five times: Sarbanes-Oxley, Sarbanes-Oxley, Sarbanes-Oxley, Sarbanes-Oxley, Sarbanes-Oxley… If you’re like me, you’re sick of hearing these words.

Lots of people, however, don’t have the first idea what the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 is really about. I think the public-at-large thinks it’s legislation that stops fraud. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

It is true that Sarbanes-Oxley (also fondly referred to as SOX or SarbOx) was meant to protect investors in public companies. It set forth some standards and certain procedures that public companies are required to abide by.

But the legislation itself requires far less than many people believe it does. At the end of the day, the regulations require companies to document their processes and disclose whether or not their internal controls are working. It doesn’t actually force them to materially improve the internal controls. (See my article What Has Sarbanes-Oxley Done For You Lately? for more of my opinions on this.)

So what does Sarbanes-Oxley require?

You heard it right! Not those scam artists from San Antonio and Atlanta. This is “The Real Deal.” Quite literally. Richard Davis, his sidekick Ginger, and the rest of the Trademark Properties team are going back on the air (this time with a contract) and I can’t wait! I’ve learned from WallStreetFighter that Richard and Ginger and crew will be on TLC starting March 10th.

From Time Warner Cable:

The Real Deal
Airs Saturdays, March 10th, 9p-10p ET (60 min.)

The Real Deal is the non-stop new series from TLC that takes us inside the world of Trademark Properties for an eye opening and unapologetic look at the true reality of making money in real estate by pulling off the impossible. Each week Team Trademark, led by Richard Davis locate, renovate and if they can pull it off on time and under budget, profit from some of the most challenging projects they can find.

Best of luck to Richard and everyone. I am so glad you’re back!

UPDATE: MediaWeek is reporting that the show will actually begin airing in April.

According to InformationWeek, The U.S. Department of Transportation has banned upgrades to Microsoft Windows Vista, Internet Explorer 7 and Office 2007. This ban will be for an indefinite period of time. According to InformationWeek:

The agency has an “indefinite moratorium” on upgrades because “there appears to be no compelling technical or business case for upgrading,” CIO Daniel Mintz says in a Jan. 19 staff memo obtained by InformationWeek. In addition, there are “specific reasons not to upgrade,” he says, referring to compatibility with apps, upgrade costs, and an upcoming move to a new headquarters. The ban applies to 15,000 DOT users who now use Windows XP Professional. The memo indicates that a similar ban is in effect at the Federal Aviation Administration, which has 45,000 desktop users.

A friend of mine who is running Vista on a new laptop computer (because there was no other option when purchasing the machine) has had nothing but trouble. The number of bugs in Microsoft Vista are apparently staggering, and compatibility issues with software packages are out of control. What a nightmare!

Dennis Troha has been federally indicted on one count of fraud and one count of making a false statement to the FBI. It is alleged that Troha used a business entity called Johnson Houston Partners to give family members over $100,000 to make campaign contributions. These contributions were made in order to receive an Indian gaming compact.

The FBI interviewed Troha on January 12, 2007, and he stated that there was no link between the distributions of money from the Johnson Houston Partnership and campaign contributions made by family members.

Troha recently withdrew from an $808 million tribal casino project after investing millions of dollars and several years of his life. He faces up to 25 years in prison and a fine of $500,000.

According to today’s Wall Street Journal:

Federal authorities have charged 13 individuals on insider trading charges in connection with two separate schemes to trade on inside information about analyst recommendation changes before they became public and pending mergers and acquisitions, according to court documents.

The individuals charged include a Morgan Stanley lawyer and her husband, an institutional client manager in the equity research department UBS AG’s securities unit, registered representatives in the securities businesses of Bear Stearns Cos. and Bank of America Corp. and several hedge fund employees.

The charges include conspiracy, securities fraud, commercial bribery and making false statements, according to court documents.

The two schemes allegedly generated $8 million in illicit profits. The Securities and Exchange Commission separately filed civil charges against 11 individuals and three entities in the schemes.