Milbank@Harvard
The NLJ reports Milbank is sending its associates to 8-day business training sessions at Harvard Law. Hildebrandt’s Larry Richard says: “They’re talking about teaching things like economics and finance. Will every lawyer be interested in that? ” Yeah, if they’re practicing business law and plan to stay relevant in an increasingly competitive world. The NLJ suggests ... Milbank@Harvard
NYSE-Deutsche Borse and jurisdictional competition
The WSJ opines on the impending sale of the NYSE to Deutsche Börse of Frankfurt. It describes the merger as “a story of inevitable capitalist change and how no country or institution can take its dominance for granted” and a “lesson in how easily capital, both financial and human, can relocate.” It describes the 171 ... NYSE-Deutsche Borse and jurisdictional competition
E Pluribus Duo and payday loans
Payday loans are supposedly a problem. I’m not sure why. Neither was George McGovern. But twelve states prohibit them. Now, if payday loans were like corporate stock, the issuers could avoid one state’s corporate rules by incorporating in a different state. You can’t do that with payday loans. But, according to the WSJ you can incorporate ... E Pluribus Duo and payday loans
Now online: Rules for Growth
A formidable group of academics has collaborated in volume that has now been posted on SSRN: Rules for Growth: Promoting Innovation and Growth Through Legal Reform. Here’s an excerpt from the abstract: The United States economy is struggling to recover from its worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. After several huge doses of conventional ... Now online: Rules for Growth
Private equity and corporate jets
I’ve written about the benefits of private equity’s “uncorporate” discipline, including owner exit rights and high-powered compensation, in reducing managerial agency costs in large firms. See my Partnership Governance of Large Firms and the longer version in Chapter 8 of my Rise of the Uncorporation. Here’s some more evidence: Edgerton, Agency Problems in Public Firms: ... Private equity and corporate jets
Pay gaps as big law’s death rattle
Today’s WSJ reports on more evidence of the death of big law under the headline “Pay Gap Widens at Big Law Firms as Partners Chase Star Attorneys.”: Some of the biggest law firms are paying outsize salaries to star attorneys, in some cases 10 times what they give other partners, in a strategy that is ... Pay gaps as big law’s death rattle
Gladwell on US News
Malcolm Gladwell tackles US News college and law school rankings in the 2/14 New Yorker (subscription required). The result is the usual Gladwellian light-headedness, a lot of cleverness but best taken like most situation comedies, without a lot of reflection. Gladwell begins by making the simple and unarguable point that you can’t capture the quality ... Gladwell on US News
Judicial dissolution of NY LLCs
In my recent paper, Close Corporation Remedies and the Evolution of the Closely Held Firm, written for a symposium on the famous Massachusetts close corporation case Wilkes v. Springside Nursing, I focused on the LLC alternative to close corporations. I observed that by providing a clearly non-corporate structure of default rules and a variety ... Judicial dissolution of NY LLCs
Cat groomers and lawyers
What do cat groomers, tattoo artists, tree trimmers, music therapist, locksmiths, caterers, hair stylists, florists, flower arrangers, interior designers, private detectives, hearing-aid fitters, conveyor-belt operators, frozen dessert retailers, hair-salon “shampoo specialists,” glaziers, librarians, nutritionists, respiratory therapists, athletic trainers, boxing promoters, eyebrow threaders, acupuncturists, tattoo artists, massage therapists for humans and for horses, wig servicers, karate ... Cat groomers and lawyers
The costs and benefits of hedge fund disclosure
The WSJ reports on proposed rules forcing hedge funds to disclose confidential proprietary information: Under current rules, many managers are required each quarter to publicly disclose their long equity positions in public securities. The proposed rules would require a much greater level of disclosure to regulators about trading positions, counterparties, liquidity, leverage and performance. * ... The costs and benefits of hedge fund disclosure
The SEC’s accounting problems
The SEC is charged with the responsibility of making sure that companies that are raising money tell the whole truth about their finances. But the NYT reports that the SEC, which is seeking money from Congress, is having problems with disclosing its own finances: Last November, the G.A.O. said that the commission’s books were in ... The SEC’s accounting problems
The SEC, the First Amendment and general solicitation
Attorney Joseph McLaughlin (whose firm represents Goldman) writes in today’s WSJ about the approaching confrontation between the SEC and the First Amendment over the issue of general solicitation: Goldman Sachs stated that it wouldn’t offer Facebook shares to U.S. customers because “the level of media attention might not be consistent with the proper completion of ... The SEC, the First Amendment and general solicitation
