Accounting for dot-com deaths: Who's to blame? Depends on who you ask.(failure of dot-com companies could lead to lawsuits against their accounting firms)(Brief Article)

Investor frustration could mean business for law firms

For investors reeling from the fallout of failing high-tech firms, it can be difficult to stop following money that is no longer there.

And the sting of mounting losses may be beginning to lead investors to find fault with the accounting firms hired to manage the books of such dot-coms that may now be more-memory than money-maker.

"Clearly, with the onslaught of failed dot-coms, you have any number of investors who have invested their money and, lo and behold, it has become a worthless investment," said Mary Jo Rebelo, an attorney with Houston Harbaugh, Downtown.

"When a company goes under or falls, the immediate conclusion is the financial statement is at fault."

For Ms. Rebelo, such investor frustration is a growing source of business. Ms. Rebelo said she's involved in several cases currently in …