HOUSTON — Now it's Arthur Andersen LLP's turn. The Chicago-based firm, plagued with client losses, bolting partners and the possibility of losing its accounting license in Texas, will likely begin presenting its defense in its obstruction of justice trial on Monday.

        Prosecutors expect to rest their case with their last witness, FBI Agent Paula Schanzle, on Monday. Andersen's lead lawyer, Rusty Hardin, then expects to start presenting the defense.

        Neil McCabe, a criminal law professor at South Texas College of Law in Houston, said the prosecution hasn't done nearly as well as he expected.

        “They do have the fact that there was a rush to shred a bunch of documents” in October as the Securities and Exchange Commission began probing finances of Enron Corp., then one of Andersen's most high-profile clients, McCabe said.

        But David Duncan, Andersen's former top Enron auditor who pleaded guilty to illegally shredding documents, testified that he decided months later he committed a crime. He said he initially believed he hadn't broken any laws when he ordered the destruction of “extraneous” Enron documents last autumn.

        Duncan also testified that he told the Enron team Oct. 23 to comply with Andersen's document retention policy without explicitly ordering workers to destroy anything.

        While testimony from Duncan, as an agent of Andersen, is enough to convict the firm of obstruction of justice, it may not convince the jury, McCabe said.

        “It's easy to say there is reasonable doubt about criminal intentions of the shredding at the time of the shredding,” he said.

        Hardin said Andersen is basically dead as a business, even if jurors acquit the firm.

        Andersen has lost more than 500 publicly traded clients, or nearly a quarter of the 2,300 companies whose books it audited last year. And last week, the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy said it has recommended revoking the company's accounting license.

        So the defense will focus on showing jurors the people behind the firm, he said.

        “Maybe I'll call some of them,” he said of Andersen partners that prosecutors didn't summon to the witness stand. “Most of these people have gone on to other jobs. The company's dead.”

        Schanzle was the 18th of 62 possible prosecution witnesses called to testify.

        Hardin said he expected Richard Corgel, Andersen's U.S. audit practice director in Chicago and one of those 62 potential witnesses, to be the first to testify for the defense.

        Corgel participated in several conference calls during which Andersen partners in Chicago and Houston discussed problematic accounting at Enron, according to documents and testimony presented by the prosecution. He also received e-mails and joined calls regarding disputes over how that accounting should have been treated by Andersen.

        U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon told jurors last week that court would be in session Monday despite the federal Memorial Day holiday.

        Hardin said he expects his case to last three to five days. After that, attorneys present closing arguments and jurors begin deliberations.

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