The recent resignation confessional by a (now) former Goldman Sachs executive offers just the latest insight into the way that some bankers may view their customers: as a means to higher bank profits, regardless of what is in the best interests of those clients. Greg Smith, a former...

Americans' trust in all institutions, including government, media and business, has dropped across-the-board after a slight rise in 2010. In a post announcing the suspension of his campaign for the Republican nomination, as he had done on the campaign trail, Jon Huntsman decried a "deficit of...

Last year was a banner year for litigation addressing a decade's worth of risky bank behavior. Financial institutions agreed to pay billions in penalties and fines to resolve allegations of securities fraud and lending discrimination during the lead up to and fallout from the financial crisis. But the payments made...

The Occupy Wall Street movement has caught on like wildfire, and is spreading to smaller cities and towns throughout the country, and large cities throughout the world. Will it be able to sustain itself? Will it be able to convert kinetic energy into lasting reform? A lot will depend on...

The Obama Administration is struggling to find answers to the housing market puzzle. Interest rates are the lowest they have been in living memory. "For Sale" signs are plentiful on lawns throughout the country. One would think there has never been a better time to purchase a home. Yet the...

In yesterday's narrow 5-4 ruling, a majority of the justices on the U.S. Supreme Court ruled yet again in favor of rich donors over everyone else. This opinion, in particular, enters the annals of the truly bizarre. The Court deemed unconstitutional Arizona's "Clean Elections Act": not...

Lost in some of the reaction to the Supreme Court's decision halting a national class action over sex discrimination in Wal-Mart was the high court's opinion, issued on the same day, which stopped some other creative litigation that had come before it: a pair of lawsuits filed by...

From the time of early English common law, the era of the colonial and early American courts and straight through to the present, state and local governments have used litigation to rein in harmful and abusive practices. Over the years, such government-led lawsuits have sought to punish a range of...

In the fall of 2010, in one of the largest scandals to ever hit the American court system, information gathered from lawsuits across the country revealed that tens of thousands of foreclosure filings were likely fraudulent -- if not outright criminal. These revelations sparked a nation-wide investigation by all 50...

The courts in New York State instituted a new rule yesterday that would require bank lawyers to ensure that their clients' filings in foreclosure cases are accurate and honest. This requirement enlists the help of lawyers--who are not just advocates, but also officers of the court--in the effort...

What is it about due process that people don't understand? The reason for a national foreclosure moratorium at this time is to preserve things as they are for a brief period of time until questions about the validity of the banks' claims against homeowners allegedly behind in their mortgages can...

If the so-called "foreclosuregate" scandal says anything, it is that efforts at achieving financial reform are not complete. A critical question remains: did the financial reform legislation that was passed fully address the root causes of the present financial crisis? Case in point: the first phase of financial reform came...

Legal missteps by banks pursuing foreclosures sent the mortgage markets into uncertain territory this last week as details emerged about the scope of the robo-sign scandal and its potential implications. There are many unanswered questions, and few simple solutions. Are we looking at just the tip of the iceberg, with...

Officials at two major banks admit that they filed fraudulent documents in hundreds of thousands of foreclosure actions. African-American and Latino borrowers are roughly 75% more likely than white borrowers of similar economic backgrounds to face foreclosure. Cases against subprime lenders for mortgage discrimination are proceeding in courts across the...

One of the most striking--and perhaps most underreported--aspects of the financial crisis is reflected in one economic indicator. The chart below tracks this indicator over the last 90 years. One sees a spike to the left of this timeline, and a spike to the right, with a long dip, and...

The Move Your Money campaign has some new allies: elected officials in the Empire State. Recent legislation passed by both houses of the state legislature directs that all state funds be deposited in financial institutions that meet the credit needs of low- and moderate-income communities. Similarly, New York City Comptroller...

July 15th, the day that the financial reform bill passed the Senate, will likely serve as a critical milestone in the campaign to create a new legal infrastructure for the financial industry, one that, hopefully, will serve as a bulwark against risky conduct and future financial crises. Much work remains...

As one tragedy unfolds, a group of industry representatives gather in a White House conference room, called to task as their recklessness causes incalculable suffering. The president, flanked by his experts, pressures the representatives to agree to set aside money to make their victims whole. An opposition blinded by its...

The "Pigeon Drop" is a classic con game. Typically, two con men and their mark appear to find a stash of stolen money. The grifters and the mark presume the money is unlikely to be claimed by the thief who lost it. The three confer about what to do about...

Late last month, the Obama Administration announced changes to the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP)--a federal effort launched early last year to encourage banks to promote mortgage modifications as an alternative to home foreclosures. Progress, though improving, has been slow. The Administration said the program could help as many as...