[JURIST] Arthur Andersen [Wikipedia entry], the former accounting giant which lost its licenses in the Enron collapse, announced a settlement on Monday with WorldCom investors who had accused the firm of violating securities laws and failing to protect them from WorldCom's $11 billion accounting fraud. Details of the settlement were not announced, and an expedited preliminary approval hearing on the settlement is set to occur Tuesday. The deal came during the fifth week of trial in a class action lawsuit brought after WorldCom's 2002 collapse [JURIST News Archive], the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history. Before trial, major investment banks agreed to pay more than $6 billion in settlements and a dozen former board members settled the case for $24.75 million, leaving Arthur Andersen as the sole defendant. Last month, former WorldCom CEO Bernard Ebbers was convicted of fraud, conspiracy and false regulatory filings in the accounting scandal, and may now spend the rest of his life in prison [JURIST report]. AP has more.