Showing archive for: “”
The limits of fiduciary duties: tomorrow at B.U.
Tomorrow at Boston University I’ll be joining a distinguished group to discuss the Role of Fiduciary Law and Trust in the 21st Century, inspired by the work of Professor Tamar Frankel. Those who have followed my work will not be surprised that I’m going to focus on the limits of fiduciary duties, and their inappropriate ... The limits of fiduciary duties: tomorrow at B.U.
Don’t vote
[In honor of the coming election. The following is reprised from the last election. It still applies.] Here’s the basic instruction (stop after 1:22). Dubner & Levitt giving the sober economics (of course it’s about social norms). Gordon Tullock, in the inimitable style I recognize from being officed down the hall from him back at ... Don’t vote
Will Federal Courts Adopt the 2010 HMGs?
Leah Brannon and co-author Kathleen Bradish, both of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, offer a skeptical view: In the half-century since du Pont, lower courts have continued to view market definition as a predicate to Section 7 claims. For example, the D.C. Circuit in FTC v. Cardinal Health, Inc. stated that “[d]efining the relevant market ... Will Federal Courts Adopt the 2010 HMGs?
Proxy advisors as regulatory spawn
John Carney comments on the rise of proxy advisory firms. He attributes this partly to increasing complexity caused by the securities industry. He notes the irony that “[r]eforms to securities regulations that were ostensibly intended to empower shareholders or further ‘shareholder democracy’ have instead resulted in increasing domination of proxy questions by a small clique ... Proxy advisors as regulatory spawn
Death of Big Government
I’ve been talking (maybe to death) about how high costs, competition, outsourcing, etc., have contributed to the Death of Big Law. Now Bloomberg reports (HT Law blog) that Mark Cuban’s lawyer told U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton in Washington that he was seeking a creative solution to moving the case along, noting the federal government ... Death of Big Government
Citizens United and the shareholder protection gambit
Last January in Citizens United the Supreme Court delivered a blow to the opponents of corporate speech by enabling corporations to spend directly on political campaigns rather than relying on PACs and lobbying. A majority of the Court concluded that public debate could be best promoted by protecting all speech, regardless of speaker. A sizable ... Citizens United and the shareholder protection gambit
More on lawyers and foreclosure-gate
A few days ago I wrote that a cause of foreclosure-gate was the law industry’s failure to fully adapt to mass production, at least partly because of current ethics rules. But lawyers are, of course, fully capable of litigating the mistakes that result from this business model. Yesterday’s WSJ examines “the growth of a legal ... More on lawyers and foreclosure-gate
Should Congress Repeal the McCarran-Ferguson Act?
While I’m focused on health care and antitrust, the question above is the subject of a conference at the Harvard Law School Petrie?Flom Center which looks like it has a great lineup. The conference is November 12th. Here is the conference description (HT: Larry Solum). Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology and Bioethics at ... Should Congress Repeal the McCarran-Ferguson Act?
DOJ v. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
This should be an interesting case to watch. As I’ve discussed, if one excludes policy speeches and restricts focus to enforcement action and activity, it has been thus far difficult to distinguish the Obama Antitrust Division from the Bush II Antitrust Division when it comes to single firm or allegedly exclusionary conduct. But the DOJ’s ... DOJ v. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
Put-backs: How much are the banks worth?
BoA is trading around $11. Its book value is $21.45. The difference has a lot to do with whether investors in mortgage-backed securities will be able to get BoA (and other banks) to repurchase hundreds of billions of dollars of mortgage-backed securities because the bonds didn’t meet representations and warranties in the bond contracts. Here’s ... Put-backs: How much are the banks worth?
Agents Prosecuting Agents, at Overcriminalization 2.0.
Tomorrow in D.C. I’m joining a distinguished group for a program called “Overcriminalization 2.0” (agenda) presented by GMU’s Journal of Law, Economics & Policy and Law & Economics Center, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the Foundation for Criminal Justice. According to the program, “[t]his symposium will capture the broad consensus on the ... Agents Prosecuting Agents, at Overcriminalization 2.0.
Optimal Sanctions for NFL Hits
In response to a week with what the NFL perceives to be a large number of tackles causing injury, the league is ready to announce a new policy in which players will be suspended for certain hits the league deems to dangerous or too likely to cause injury. This is a change from the NFL’s ... Optimal Sanctions for NFL Hits
