New York – The NYTimes Dealbook reports that Primary Global Research has closed its offices, but says it is still open for business:
The government’s widespread crackdown on insider trading on Wall Street has nearly claimed another casualty: the expert network firm Primary Global Research.
The firm shuttered its Mountain View, Calif., offices in the last month and disconnected its toll-free phone line. Yet the company itself remains open, according to a spokesman, who declined to comment on specifics.
“We’re not going to give you any comment,” said Adam Friedman of Adam Friedman Associates, a public relations firm that represents Primary Global.
In related news, Winifred Jiau, a former consultant on the Primary Global network, is set to go on trial:
“We look forward to defeating this misguided prosecution and sending Ms. Jiau home to California and her beloved dog, Hunter,” said Joanna C. Hendon, a lawyer at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius representing Ms. Jiau. (Ms. Hendon said that Hunter, a golden retriever, is being watched by friends of Ms. Jiau.)
Ms. Hendon, a former federal prosecutor, is representing Ms. Jiau as part of a court program that appoints lawyers to represent defendants financially unable to retain counsel in a criminal case.
Trying the case for the government are the assistant United States attorneys Avi Weitzman and David Leibowitz.
Ms. Jiau is being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Lower Manhattan while awaiting trial. Judge Jed S. Rakoff, who is presiding over the case, revoked Ms. Jiau’s bail after prosecutors presented evidence that she was a flight risk.
Judge Rakoff, among the more charismatic judges on the federal bench, promises to add entertainment value to Ms. Jiau’s proceedings. In May at a pretrial hearing, he expressed disappointment that the two sides had entered into plea negotiations.
“I am so impressed with the level of lawyering in this case on both sides,” Judge Rakoff said. “I saw somewhere in press reports that the parties were talking settlement, and I personally hope that is not true because I am really looking forward to this trial.”
The comments from the judge indicate that we may yet have months of entertainment to look forward to as the case proceeds.