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Full-Text Articles in Law
Incentivizing Credit Rating Agencies Under The Issuer Pay Model Through A Mandatory Compensation Competition, Robert J. Rhee
Incentivizing Credit Rating Agencies Under The Issuer Pay Model Through A Mandatory Compensation Competition, Robert J. Rhee
Faculty Scholarship
Credit rating agencies are important institutions of the global capital markets. If they had performed properly, the financial crisis of 2008-2009 would not have occurred. This article offers the simplest fix proposed thus far, and it is contrarian. This Article accepts the central role of rating agencies in the regulation of bond investments, the realities of a duopoly, and the issuer-pay model of compensation. The status quo is the baseline. The role of regulation should be to create the conditions necessary to induce competition. This article proposes that a small, recurring portion of revenue earned by the largest rating agencies …
A More Realistic Approach To Directors' Duties, Michelle M. Harner
A More Realistic Approach To Directors' Duties, Michelle M. Harner
Faculty Scholarship
Expectations for what fiduciary duties can achieve in the corporate context are unrealistic. This segment of the law—and the alleged deficiencies therein—are blamed for corporate scandals, securities fraud, failed business plans, and even a company's insolvency. Risk is, however, inherent in business, and human beings are flawed. Fiduciary duty law cannot change these basic facts. To the extent we think it can, we will continue to be disappointed and frustrated. This essay considers recasting (and to a greater extent codifying) directors’ duties in a positive frame to help foster better director oversight. It does not suggest that codifying greater clarity …
Mitigating Financial Risk For Small Business Entrepreneurs, Michelle M. Harner
Mitigating Financial Risk For Small Business Entrepreneurs, Michelle M. Harner
Faculty Scholarship
Financial distress by definition threatens a company’s viability. Entrepreneurial and start-up entities are particularly vulnerable to this threat. Yet, much of the discussion following the recent recession focuses almost exclusively on financial institutions and “too-big-to-fail” entities. This essay re-examines lessons gleaned from the recession in the context of smaller, entrepreneurial entities. Specifically, it analyzes how small business entrepreneurs might invoke principles of enterprise risk management to mitigate the long-term impact of financial distress on their business models. It also considers related refinements to extant small business regulations, including the U.S. bankruptcy laws. The essay’s primary objective is to help policymakers, …
Sublicensing From A Distressed Company: Are You Placing Your Future In The Debtor's Hands?, Michelle M. Harner, David A. Beck
Sublicensing From A Distressed Company: Are You Placing Your Future In The Debtor's Hands?, Michelle M. Harner, David A. Beck
Faculty Scholarship
No abstract provided.
Thou Shalt Not Kill As Defeasible Heuristic: Law And Economics And The Debate Over Assisted Suicide, Daniel J. Gilman
Thou Shalt Not Kill As Defeasible Heuristic: Law And Economics And The Debate Over Assisted Suicide, Daniel J. Gilman
Faculty Scholarship
Although the literature addressing medical decisions at the end of life is vast, surprisingly little of it has come from the perspective of law and economics. This article begins with a critical account of one of the very few law and economics-based discussions of physician-assisted suicide (PAS), that developed by Judge Richard Posner in his book, Aging and Old Age. Central to Judge Posner's account is a model of PAS as a sort of technological innovation. What this particular innovation is supposed to bring is a radical reduction in certain critical information costs attending end-of-life decision making. It is …
The Suitability Rule, Investor Diversification, And Using Spread To Measure Risk, Richard A. Booth Marbury Research Professor Of Law
The Suitability Rule, Investor Diversification, And Using Spread To Measure Risk, Richard A. Booth Marbury Research Professor Of Law
Faculty Scholarship
This article reviews the state of the law regarding actions against broker-dealers based on the NASD suitability rule and similar theories, summarizes the theory and practice of investor diversification, explains the motivations that may lead a broker to recommend excessively risky securities and investment strategies, and discusses the various methods that may be used to quantify or compare risk, focusing in particular on how the bid-ask spread may be used as a forward-looking surrogate for the direct measurement of risk.