Contrite KPMG

   Times are a changin.  KPMG, once known for its stone-wall, hard-ball tactics when faced with litigation, has rolled over and played contrite in the face of the charge by the Justice Department that the firm sold illegal tax shelters to clients.  KPMG apologized, took "full responsibility," and offered to help the authorities find and charge KPMG employees.  This the direct result of the Arthur Anderson criminal prosecution, which although recently reversed, still killed the firm.  KPMG and other financial institutions now know that even a criminal charge could be a death knell.  Wins on appeal or even at trial are still losses in an industry that depends on investor or client confidence for its revenue.