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At the moment, General Motors (GM) are in the middle of a giant recall spanning back a decade and involving 13 fatalities.
The GM recall details
The manufacturer is currently in the midst of recalling more than 1.6 million older vehicles to correct a condition that could allow the engine and other components, including front airbags, to turn off while the vehicle is travelling at high speed.
This failure is believed to be caused when weight on the ignition key, road conditions or some other jarring event causes the ignition switch to move out of the 'run' position. This turns off the engine and most of the car's electrical components mid-drive, with sometimes catastrophic results.
GM has recommended that owners use only the ignition key with nothing else on the key ring.
What is happening with the recall?
Considering the severity of the issue, GM have hired two law firms, with ties to the automaker, to look into the recall. A Congressional committee has also said that it would investigate the company's response to the defect which first came to light a decade ago.
The internal probe will be led by Jenner & Block Chairman Anton “Tony” Valukas, who investigated Lehman Brothers after the financial services firm collapsed in 2008. GM has worked with Jenner & Block since 2002, and at least two of the automaker's former top attorneys, Robert Osborne and Elmer Johnson, were partners at the Chicago law firm. Valukas will be co-leading the recall investigation with GM's current general council, Michael Millikin.
General Motors have also stated that lawyers from King & Spalding, which represented the company during some of it's bankruptcy proceedings and other litigation work since, will work on the recall review ordered by GM CEO, Mary Barra.
Comments on GM's recall investigation
Monroe Freedman, a legal ethics expert and law professor at Hofstra University School of Law, commented, “To me, there's a conflict of interest. A reasonable person might question whether the firm wants to curry favor with GM, so it can maintain a good relationship or obtain future work.”
GM spokesperson, Selim Bingol, responded that there is no conflict of interest and Valukas, “has been charged to go where the facts take him and give the company an unvarnished report on what happened. He is the ideal person to do that, given his understanding of our business and his reputation for adhering to the highest standards.”
Will the problem be fixed during the recall?
While recalls are not unusual, especially for Toyota, the number of fatalities involved and the way GM handled the problem has the potential to cost the company hundreds of millions of dollars in fines and possible legal damages, in addition to tarnishing it's reputation. In response to this, Barra has offered an apology and has designated assignments for top executives related to the recall.
Most of the affected vehicles are in North America and the US automaker has said the recall will begin next month when it has the replacement parts.