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Hewlett
Packard's general counsel Ann Baskins resigned amid the long-running
spying scandal at one of America's finest corporations.
Baskins announced her resignation just
hours before HP's CEO and former chairwoman were expected to testify
before the US Congress that they had not been advised that the
internal spy program at HP utilized illegal methods. |
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Baskins was with HP for 24
years. For the recent six years she served as HP's head in-house
lawyer. She was scheduled to testify before a House committee.
Her attorneys advised the media that she would invoke her Fifth
Amendment right against self-incrimination, thereby not
answering questions. |
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Baskins
biography on HP's Internet site states that she managed "worldwide legal
matters including patents and licenses, litigation and regulatory
compliance". Her biography also mentions that, as HP's
corporate secretary, since 1999, she was also responsible for
shareholders' meetings, "board of directors' formalities," corporate
governance and shareholder records. |
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Baskins joined HP in 1982 as a lawyer.
She rose to senior attorney in 1985 and corporate counsel in
1986. She was placed in several other positions before rising to general
counsel in January 2000. She graduated from
Stanford University and earned her law degree at the University of
California, Los Angeles. |
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Ann Baskins knew better. She
had
the upbringing, education, and opportunities to have learned better. |
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The deal to
leave HP requires that Baskins
must forfeit all of her restricted HP stock. However, she will hold
on to her
retirement payments which total $1.78 million. |