Seagate chairman wins public apology from California lawyers

Seagate chairman Al Shugart has received an apology from a group of Californian lawyers for a 1996 television commercial, which showed his face metamorphosising into that of disgraced financier Charles Keating.

The commercial, run by the Consumer Attorneys of California, was opposing a state proposal to rein in shareholder lawsuits, a move that Shugart, along with most of Silicon Valley, supported. The ad warned viewers to ?protect yourself from the next Charles Keating?.

Keating was involved in a notorious savings scandal in the 1980s. The litigious Shugart sued for libel and has now won a full page apology in Silicon Valley Santa Cruz Sentinel plus a $350,000 donation to charity. The apology is expected to appear in other Californian newspapers soon.