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The final episode in The Enron Trial series is here. In part 5, Tom Fox and Loren Steffy take a look at Enron’s legacy, fifteen years after the trial. 

Why Should the Trial Be Remembered? 
“What the trial really brought home for everyone was the human toll that these kinds of corporate malfeasance cases can have,” explains Loren. When companies try to do whatever is necessary to keep their stock prices up at all costs, a lot of long-term harm comes out of it, “Enron wasn’t only an accounting failure… above all else, it was a human failure.” 
Enron’s Innovations 
Looking back on Enron’s successes, you begin to wonder, ‘What if?’ Loren highlights how unfortunately it panned out for the corporation, stating that, “They really were out in front of a lot of these trends. Unfortunately they shot themselves in the foot with their accounting.” 
Fifteen Years Later – What Has Changed? 
There’s a lot that can be learned from the fall of Enron; corporate responsibility is viewed differently, now. It’s no longer only about shareholder value, but also an improved focus on corporate governance. “We’ve realised that our corporations have greater responsibilities in that they have responsibilities to their employees, and they have responsibilities to their communities,” Loren tells Tom.
RESOURCES
Loren Steffy | LinkedIn | Twitter 

 
Loren Steffy and Tom Fox have another conversation as The Enron Trial series nears the end. In episode 4, Loren Steffy recalls the aftermath of the guilty verdict. 
 

 
The Verdict and Counts of Conviction 
Jeffrey Skilling was convicted of 19 counts, his sentence totaling 185 years, and Kenneth Lay was looking at 120 years in prison. Skilling was actually sentenced to 17 years, which was then reduced to 12. Kenneth Lay passed away prior to his sentencing, and so, the verdict was vacated. 
 
The Prosecution and Defence 
“The defense team was stunned,” said Loren, “I think that the attorneys, as well as the defendants, believed that they were going to get a not guilty verdict.” The prosecution, on the other hand, felt a great sense of relief and accomplishment; this was an uphill battle from a prosecution standpoint in many ways. Jeffrey Skilling appeared stoic; though there were stories that indicated he disagreed with the verdict, he seemed to have accepted his fate. 
 
The Jurors and The Judge 
Loren commends the jurors, believing they deserve a lot of credit for their involvement in the trial. “I think they did a really good job of listening to the arguments and considering them,” he said. What was interesting, to him, was their response to Andrew Fastow’s testimony, one that Loren found to be credible, “It was like that didn’t really factor into their decision nearly as much as we thought it would when we were watching all of it unfold.” According to him, the judge certainly understood the magnitude of the case, and tried to be very careful in his administration of the case to avoid mistakes that could have led to a mistrial, “Everyone really understood that this was a big trial, and they were playing on the big stage.”
 
RESOURCES
Loren Steffy | LinkedIn | Twitter