Hedge fund industry shaken, stirred by Rajaratnam verdict

The howl you hear is of hedge fund managers crying.Reuters reports:

Some hedge fund managers and investors attending a conference (in Las Vegas) audibly gasped when the news flashed on TV screens that Raj Rajaratnam had been convicted on all 14 counts of insider trading.

"Wow, gosh. I don't know what to say," whispered a prominent industry executive.

Several people attending the Skybridge Alternatives Conference, one of the hedge fund industry's most prestigious events of the year, privately said they had long ago written him off as one of the $2 trillion industry's 'bad apples'."

How will the verdict affect the way hedge funds work?

The moneybags are nervous. Do they have to do the things they do very differently? A legal eagle weighs in.Watch.

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[caption id="attachment_8447" align="alignleft" width="380" caption="Galleon hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam (C) departs Manhattan Federal Court with his lawyer, in New York May 11, 2011. Lucas Jackson Reuters"][/caption]

Caught on camera: Raj Rajaratnam's attorney is mad - and it shows!

Soon after Raj Rajaratnam was found guilty of insider trading, his attorney, John Dowd was approached by a CNBC team for his reaction. His response was pretty distinctive.Watch.

The role of Starbucks in the case

A lot of the action in the case unfolded in Starbucks outlets. Wonder why?

The Wall Street Journal'sLaw Blog reports:

"Starbucks offers the kind of bustling environment that can provide cover for individuals during their interactions, lawyers say. The WSJ notes, for example, that Anna Chapman, the Russian who admitted to working as spy in the U.S., also used a Manhattan Starbucks for covert communications with a consular official from Russia."

Says lawyer Ira Lee Sorkin: "The Oak Room at the Plaza is now pass. It's now lattes at Starbucks the government should be focussing on."

Jury verdict transcripts

If you want all the inside dope on the jury verdict, here are the transcripts of the jury verdict. Let's just say the word GUILTY is a big part of it.

The trial was a drama worthy of Hollywood

The case featured "friends-turned government witnesses, a blonde trader fluent in locker-room language, and the disclosure of secrets from the highest levels of the corporate world," reports the Financial Times. Details here.

A 'victory for the phone-tapping'

Lawyers say the verdict opens the door to more widespread use of phone-tapping in insider-trading probes. More here.