Pedowitz To Lead Review of League’s Officiating Program

NEW YORK, Aug. 21, 2007 – NBA Commissioner David Stern announced today that the NBA has named Lawrence B. Pedowitz, a former Chief of the Criminal Division in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and current partner at law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, to lead a comprehensive review of the league's rules, policies, and procedures relating to gambling and its officiating program.

Pedowitz, a former law clerk to United States Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, Jr., and members of his law firm will conduct a broad examination of the NBA's league-wide anti-gambling efforts, including its rules, its policies regarding disclosure of confidential information, its methods of monitoring and enforcement, and its efforts to educate NBA personnel. In addition, the review will include an analysis of the current hiring and development processes for NBA referees, and the systems used to monitor their off-court behavior and on-court performance, all with the aim of improving the overall effectiveness of NBA officiating and of bolstering the league's efforts to detect and deter betting on its games.

“There is nothing as important as the integrity of our game and the covenant we have with our fans,” said Stern. “In order to preserve their trust, we will make every effort possible to ensure that our processes and procedures are the best they can be. With his background as a Federal prosecutor and his vast experience in criminal law and risk management matters in almost 25 years of private legal practice, Larry Pedowitz is an ideal person to lead this independent review.”

Pedowitz said, “With full recognition of the seriousness of the task and the careful scrutiny required, I accept the responsibility placed on me by the Commissioner. I have received a broad mandate from the NBA, including the authority to retain the additional experts and consultants needed to complete a searching review. We intend to thoroughly examine those areas of the NBA's operations that could affect the integrity of the game.”

David B. Anders, who joined Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz after serving more than seven years as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, will be assisting Pedowitz. As part of the review, Pedowitz, Anders and their team will work with all constituencies whose views can lead to improved policies and procedures, including the referees union, players union, and law enforcement. They will conduct interviews with referees, players, coaches, owners, and other team and league personnel, among others.

Pedowitz has been a partner at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz specializing in corporate litigation, regulatory and white collar criminal matters for more than two decades. During his years in private practice, Pedowitz has frequently been selected by major corporations to review their compliance systems to ensure that they have state-of-the-art policies and procedures, training and audit/detection systems to manage the legal and reputational risks inherent in their businesses.

Pedowitz’s 35-year legal career includes significant experience serving as Chief Appellate Attorney (1976-1978) and Chief of the Criminal Division (1982-1984) in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

source :NBA.com