Dorsey partner and former director of the Minnesota Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility (OLPR) William Wernz discusses in a Minnesota Lawyer article the legal ethics of certain investigatory methods in light of the ongoing Hewlett-Packard pretexting scandal. In early October 2006, California Attorney Bill Lockyer filed criminal charges against several former HP officers, including chief ethics officer Kevin Hunsacker, for hiring private investigators to obtain phone records of HP board members by impersonating them.
Wernz says the pretexting case teaches several lessons on where to draw the line between aggressive investigating and impermissible deceit.