By: Joanie Lum, reporting

April 27, 2005, CBS 2

Thousands of Chicago workers relived a nightmare Wednesday, as their former company Arthur Andersen made an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In the spring and summer of 2002, Andersen, the one-time big six accounting firm, was caught up in the corporate scandal surrounding the fall of Enron. Andersen was found guilty of obstruction of justice.

The Supreme Court poked through the rubble of the Enron Corp. financial scandal Wednesday, questioning whether the Arthur Andersen accounting firm that came crashing down with the energy giant got a fair criminal trial. At issue are the jury instructions that led to the prosecution of what was once the fifth-largest accounting firm in the country.

Before the scandal, more than 6,000 people worked at Andersen’s downtown headquarters and in its St. Charles facility. Now, about 200 people work for Andersen, mostly handling lawsuits.

But there is still a network that supports Andersen’s alumni.

The wounds were fresh when employees packed up and left the oldest and biggest accounting firm in the world. The Chicago headquarters of Arthur Andersen collapsed in 2002.

Even three years later, former Andersen employees are suffering and floundering in the job market.

"So many people had to suffer because of the acts of a few. Hundreds of jobs were lost. Life's totally disrupted," said former Andersen employee Jonathan Goldsmith.

Goldsmith started a website to keep ex-employees networking. It has now grown to include 9,000 worldwide members sharing information.

"Just different things, 401k plans," said Goldsmith.

The most active page is the job opportunities listing.

"Right now there are 247 jobs posted all over the United States," said Goldsmith.

Employers search the site for what they expect to be the brightest, well-trained professionals in the field.

"When you had a year or two of Andersen experience under your belt, you were the top," said Golsmith.

And some people use the site to vent. They still can't believe a company as big as Andersen failed.

"It's astounding that a company could have gone from the gold standard of accounting during the early 90s, to disgrace at the end of 2002," said Northwestern University Accounting Professor Lawrence Revsine, who wrote a book on financial accounting.

Revsine says all publicly held businesses are paying a price from Andersen’s failure. They now have to comply with the government's requirement that companies internally review internal controls for accuracy and efficiency.

"The aftermath of the Andersen demise for better or worse has had a lasting imprint on public accounting,” said Revsine.

Revsine says new financial accounting laws created a twist in the industry. The very accounting firms that caused failed audits now have a lot of work to do, which is to help companies comply with the more stringent accounting laws.

Some of the remaining accounting firms are turning away work.