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Declaration Of Helen J. Hodges In Support Of Lead Counsel's ...

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drawing on the expertise of our in-house forensic accountants for the accounting allegations and<br />

consulting with former investment bankers for the allegations against the banks. We combined all of<br />

these resources to piece together the puzzle of Enron’s accounting, its false financials, and its<br />

ultimate collapse.<br />

79. At the scheduling conference in late February 2002, the Court set a very tight<br />

schedule for filing the Consolidated Complaint and briefing motions to dismiss. Coughlin Stoia<br />

continued to gather information for the complaint, took steps to preserve evidence which we could<br />

not obtain through formal discovery, served subpoenas for preservation of documents on banks<br />

which had done business with Enron and moved to lift the stay in bankruptcy in an effort to obtain<br />

documents from Enron.<br />

80. Preparing the Consolidated Complaint for filing within 30 days after the scheduling<br />

conference was an enormous undertaking. <strong>In</strong> March 2002 we had an “all-hands” meeting in<br />

California to strategize and coordinate our efforts. University Counsel Chris Patti, attorneys from<br />

our New York and San Diego offices, investigators, forensic accountants and other consultants<br />

gathered and spent a day and a half reviewing evidence, and sharing ideas on which defendants<br />

should be named and identifying the claims that would be pled against them. Topics at the all-hands<br />

meeting included evidence about broadband; related-party partnerships and financial structures,<br />

including Raptors, JEDI/Chewco, LJM, and Braveheart; legal standards to establish auditor and<br />

banker liability; the role of lawyers, bankers, and auditors in Enron’s fraudulent misrepresentations<br />

and omissions; and the Company’s improper accounting for its sham transactions. Throughout<br />

March 2002, the team continued drafting the Consolidated Complaint and we went through countless<br />

drafts. Our efforts culminated in the 500+-page Consolidated Complaint which named Enron<br />

officers and directors, its auditor Andersen, and for the first time, nine of the largest financial<br />

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