"Can a Disgraced Trader Get a Job in Academia?"

From the New Yorker:

In December, the Securities and Exchange Commission asked U.S. District Judge Katherine B. Forrest to impose financial penalties of more than a million dollars on Fabrice Tourre, the former Goldman Sachs Group trader who, last August, was found liable for misleading investors in an infamous 2007 deal known as Abacus. On Tuesday, Tourre’s lawyers filed a reply brief, asking Forrest to impose a maximum penalty of sixty-five thousand dollars. The brief also noted that, “after receiving his doctorate, Mr. Tourre plans to pursue a career in academia.”

Tourre is pursuing a Ph.D. in economics at the University of Chicago. Observing him in court last August, I couldn’t help wondering what my reaction would be if he were a candidate for a teaching job at the university where I teach. His experience at Goldman Sachs and a Ph.D. from Chicago would otherwise make him a much sought-after candidate, and it would be natural for him to want to use both his economics degree and Wall Street experience to teach future Wall Street executives. But would any business school be willing to hire Tourre, better known as Fabulous Fab, who has become the face of Wall Street greed?

The Tourre I witnessed in court was a sincere and polite young man, albeit one who had allegedly violated securities laws. I was sympathetic to the fact that he was poorly trained and supervised, and that others shared responsibility for the Abacus fraud; I was also struck by the fact that, even six years later, he seemed, in many ways, naïve—in over his head at Goldman Sachs, and perhaps even unaware that he had helped mislead investors. Accepting blame and showing remorse may not have been appropriate when Tourre was defending himself in court. But, now that he has been found liable for securities fraud, Tourre would do well to take responsibility and apologize for his actions if he wants to maximize his chances of a successful academic career. The brief filed by his lawyers on Tuesday offered no indication that Tourre acknowledged or felt remorse for the violations for which the jury found him liable; he continues to maintain his innocence, perhaps in anticipation of filing an appeal....MORE