Atlanta partner in the Wall Street Journal
Atlanta partner Brink Dickerson was quoted in a June 16 Wall Street Journal article titled “ Corporate Jet Set: Leisure vs. Business.”
According to the article, the high percentage of trips taken by executives to vacation destinations using their companies’ private jets has stirred doubts among some experts about whether companies are disclosing to shareholders the full amounts spent on personal-jet travel, widely considered the most expensive executive perk.
“Personal use of corporate aircraft is still underreported,” said Dickerson, who advises public companies on the issue and believes it is appropriate for executives to take personal trips on company planes. He argues, however, that companies should be reporting such use rather than “disguising” it as business travel.
Dickerson also obtained ink in a June 22 Atlanta Journal Constitution article about Morgan Keegan & Co., an investment firm based in Memphis, Tenn., having to pay $200 million to settle civil charges that it defrauded investors, including many in Georgia, who bought into funds that included subprime mortgage loans that soured when the housing market tanked.
On the settlement against Morgan Keegan, Dickerson stated: “It reflects the SEC’s continuing decision not to let these cases go.”