The trial of the three - former chair, Steven Davis, former executive director Stephen DiCarmine and former chief financial officer Joel Sanders - is expected to last between four and six months. It will be 'a long, dense, complex journey into the defendants’ minds', according to Bennett Gershman, a former prosecutor in the Manhattan Attorney General's office who is now a professor at Pace Law School. 

Clueless auditor

It is alleged that Mr Sanders sent an email to another person at the firm in which he asked: 'Can you find another clueless auditor for next year?'. The reply came back: 'That’s the plan. Worked perfect this year.' The firm went bankrupt in 2012. The prosecution will argue that accounts were mis-stated in order to stay on the right side of compliance requirements of the firm's lenders. The prosecution will also bring in evidence from seven more junior employees who have pleaded guilty to related crimes.

Possible sentences

If convicted, the three face a maximum of 25 years in prison and a minimum of 8 years and 4 months. At the time of its filing for bankruptcy, the law firm had over 1,000 lawyers in 26 offices. It was one of the top US law firms and known as one of the biggest payers.  Source: Wall Street Journal