Dunning the Deposed Boss

This week's criminal indictment of former Enron chief executive Kenneth Lay, will undoubtedly increase the pressure on him to repay the millions he made running the company before its collapse. However, the creditors' effort to recover the money may have yet to succeed.

Other major companies have encountered tremendous difficulty in regaining large sums of money from their fallen CEOs. Conseco, Inc., for example, had to hire lawyers and private investigators, and move to foreclose on the mortgage of former CEO Stephen Hilbert's 25,000-square-foot Indiana estate. Hilbert, who has filed a countersuit against Conseco, maintains that he doesn't owe the company a dime. 

Kirkland partner Reed Oslan is representing Conseco in the litigation against Hilbert. "We are still quite confident that at the end of the day, we'll be able to recover a substantial portion of the money he owes us," Oslan said.

This article appeared in its entirety in the July 9, 2004 issue of  The Wall Street Journal.