GM Has Close Ties to Outside Counsel Tapped to Investigate Recall Scandal

King & Spalding, a law firm GM used to defend against lawsuits alleging a car defect led to fatal accidents, has now been called on by the automaker to conduct an investigation into why the company failed for more than a decade to alert regulators and drivers to those same defects. Recruiting an outside law firm to conduct an investigation into alleged wrongdoing is now a common practice for companies facing serious charges. It’s  “part investigation, part public-relations gambit and part legal strategy,” says the New York Times in an examination of the practice, and in particular the dual roles King & Spalding has played with GM.