Anton “Tony” Valukas on the Demise of Lehman Brothers

In episode one of Re-Examination, senior Jenner & Block partner Anton “Tony” Valukas explains how he approached telling one of the most consequential and complicated stories of our time: the collapse of Lehman Brothers. 

Once the world’s fourth largest investment bank, Lehman filed for bankruptcy on September 15, 2008. Its collapse contributed to the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression of 1929. 

Appointed examiner by the judge overseeing Lehman’s bankruptcy, Tony was tasked with explaining how an investment bank that had reported record revenues of nearly $60 billion less than eight months before fell so swiftly. 

In the end, Tony and his Jenner & Block colleagues filed a nine-volume, 2,200-page account known as the Valukas report that became the definitive account of Lehman’s fall and set a new standard for investigating corporate failure.

In conversation with Infinite Global Head Writer Andrew Longstreth and M Coffey founder Murray Coffey, Valukas discusses his approach to producing the Valukas report, which was noted as much for its unimpeachable veracity as its illuminating use of storytelling.   

Thank you for listening. To learn more, visit Infinite Global and M Coffey.