Sommer Sensation (Part 2): If The Phone Is Legit, You Must Acquit. Closing Remarks on Behalf of Michael Kimelman in Zvi Goffer Insider Trading Trial.

What follows below is the second part of the transcript of Michael Sommer's cloing remarks on behalf of his client Michael Kimelman. Mr. Sommer, a marvelously talented attorney from Wilson, Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, laid out for the jury a powerful defense of his client, clearly trying to distingush the evidence (or lack thereof) against his client from the evidence against the other two defendants. Early on, Mr. Sommer laid out a visual for the jury showing the questionable link between the information gathered by Zvi Goffer and Mr. Kimelman. His job was to simply point out flaws in the government's case, and create reasonable doubt in the jury. Poke holes in the governments theory (and wihout any hard proof it really is essentially just a theory) that Michael Kimelman received and traded upon material non-public information, and that he was part of an “inner circle” (eg, part of the alleged conspiracy) with the Goffers and/or others who have pled guilty. Mr. Sommer explained to the jury that the evidence in this case shows that some defendants and informants received prepaid phones (“secret phones”) from Zvi Goffer in order to discuss pending takeovers by clients of the law firm Ropes and Gray. The evidence also shows that Mr. Kimelman was the only alleged co-conspirator who did not have a prepaid phone. Hey jurors, is this fact alone not enough to create reasonable doubt? Mike Kimelman did receive numerous calls from Zvi (they were, after all business partners at Incremental Capital) but Mr. Sommer argued that they were not consistent with being part of any inner circle. For instance, in a series of calls after... Continue reading here.. Watch today's featured Hedge Fund Live content on Hedge Fund Live here.