Ignorance has often been a legitimate defense for a corporate executive; under the law, prosecutors must prove intent.
Ralph Baxter, the chairman and chief executive of the law firm Orrick, said allowing law firms to accept outside capital would give them market value and could make them attractive to investors.
"If the Congress can't fix, after 10 years, something that is widely seen as in need of repair, and the executive takes the law into its own hands, then we are looking at a dysfunctional government and a disruption of our separation of powers".
Magnus Hoglund, chief executive of the law media portal Law360.com, who has worked on digital media companies for the past decade, said: "From my experience, I get the sense that being on Facebook is not cool anymore.
Senator Carl Levin, Democrat of Michigan, who led the Congressional inquiry, had sent his findings to the Justice Department to figure out whether executives broke the law.
In interviews, two people familiar with both the contents of the e-mails and the discussions between the executives and the law firm provided new details about the possible payoffs.
GlaxoSmithKline has admitted that some of its senior Chinese executives broke the law in a £320m cash and sexual favours bribery scandal.
Senator Carl Levin, a Democrat from Michigan, is so convinced that Mr. Blankfein and his colleagues "misled" Congress that he wants to refer the matter to the Justice Department to figure out whether Goldman executives broke the law.
The move comes as the Chinese authorities continue to investigate allegations that some senior GSK Chinese executives broke the law in a £320m cash and sexual favours bribery scandal.
Company executives breaking the law in pursuit of delirious growth.
