Law's Michael Benza explains when the “advice of counsel” defense fails

No charges filed against retired teachers' pension fund leaders after ethics complaint

WEWS: Michael Benza, professor of practice at the School of Law, said relying on an attorney’s advice can protect officials accused of ethics violations—unless they sought legal guidance specifically to commit a crime. He explained that the “advice of counsel” defense fails if defendants knowingly tried to break the law and used lawyers to cover it.