Law Commons^™

Contracting In The Modern World, Enrico Baffi

enrico baffi

In this paper we try explore some of the basic features of mass contracting. In our opinion, there are basically four characteristics of mass contracting: the reduced negotiations, the dissemination of standard form contracts, the presence of abusive clauses, and the recapitulation of the contract and its execution in a single act of stipulation. a) The reduction in negotiations is the result first of all of the costs that this activity requires and of the costs required to manage personalised contracts; secondly, this reduction is the consequence of the greater advantage of mass-produced goods compared to personalised goods; ) The …

International Arbitration Scholarship And The Concept Of Arbitration Law, Stavros Brekoulakis

Stavros Brekoulakis

This article is about the concept of arbitration law and its relationship with international arbitration scholarship. It argues that the field of international arbitration scholarship has developed in isolation and never fully engaged with the crucial movements of international legal scholarship that advanced a more progressive and humanitarian concept of international law. The dearth of interdisciplinary scholarship in arbitration has had two undesirable implications. First, it has had a negative impact on how non-arbitration scholars and the public perceive arbitration. Secondly, and more importantly for the purposes of this article, it has crucially impaired the concept and autonomy of arbitration …

Contracting In The Modern World, Enrico Baffi

enrico baffi

In this paper I try explore some of the basic features of modern mass contracting. In my opinion, there are basically four characteristics of modern mass contracting: a)he reduced negotiations; b) the dissemination of standard form contracts; c) the presence of abusive clauses; d) and the recapitulation of the contract and its execution in a single act of stipulation. All the changes are the consequences in the changes of relative costs of activities: a) The reduction in negotiations is the result first of all of the costs that this activity requires and of the costs required to manage personalized contracts; …

The Problem Of Internalization Of Social Costs And The Ideas Of Ronal Coase, Enrico Baffi

enrico baffi

This work examines the influence of Coasian thought on the analysis of externalities as used by economists and legal economists. Ronald Coase, a Chicago scholar, advanced a series of criticisms of the Pigovian tax system; the theorem that bears his name is merely the best known. In his 1960 work, he sought to demonstrate that the internationalization of social costs was not always socially useful andd sometimes impossible. In addition, he identified other institutional solutions to which systems can - and often do - resort. One of these solutions is to simply authorize the harmful activity without introducing mechanisms to …

The Problem Of Internalization Of Social Costs And The Ideas Of Ronald Coase, Enrico Baffi

enrico baffi

This work examines the influence of Coasian thought on the analysis of externalities as used by economists and legal economists. Ronald Coase, a Chicago scholar, advanced a series of criticisms of the Pigovian tax system; the theorem that bears his name is merely the best known. In his 1960 work, he sought to demonstrate that the internationalization of social costs was not always socially useful and in many casesimossible. In addition, he identified other institutional solutions to which systems can - and often do - resort. One of these solutions is to simply authorize the harmful activity without introducing mechanisms …

The Problem Of Internalization Of Social Costs And The Ideas Of Ronald Coase, Enrico Baffi

enrico baffi

This work examines the influence of Coasian thought on the analysis of externalities as used by economists and legal economists. Ronald Coase, a Chicago scholar, advanced a series of criticisms of the Pigovian tax system; the theorem that bears his name is merely the best known. In his 1960 work, he sought to demonstrate that the internationalization of social costs was not always socially useful and also difficult if not impossible to realize. In addition, he identified other institutional solutions to which systems can - and often do - resort. One of these solutions is to simply authorize the harmful …

How Statistical Sampling Can Solve The Conundrum Of Compensation Disclosures Under Dodd-Frank, Michael Ohlrogge

Michael Ohlrogge

One of the more controversial measures of the Dodd-Frank bill is its requirement that companies report the ratio of their CEO’s compensation to that of their median employee. Critics of this provision have claimed that for large companies with employees and subsidiaries throughout the world, compliance with this measure alone could cost millions of dollars a year, due to the difficulties in identifying the median employee. This paper demonstrates that the Securities and Exchange Commission, which is charged with implementing this provision, has the latitude to direct companies to calculate the figure using a statistical sampling procedure which would greatly …

Janus Capital Group, Inc. V. First Derivative Traders: The Culmination Of The Supreme Court’S Reactionary Rule 10b-5 Jurisprudence Which Protects Fraud At The Expense Of Investors, Charles W. Murdock

Charles W. Murdock

Summary: Janus Capital Group, Inc. v. First Derivative Traders: The Culmination of the Supreme Court’s Reactionary Rule 10b-5 Jurisprudence Which Protects Fraud at the Expense of Investors

“Political” decisions such as Citizens United and National Federation of Independent Business (“Obamacare”) reflect the reactionary bent of several Supreme Court justices. But this reactionary trend is discernible in other areas as well. With regard to Rule 10b-5, the Court has handed down a series of decisions that could be grouped into four trilogies. The article examines the trend over the past 40 years which has become increasingly conservative and finally reactionary.

The …

Federalism And Company Law, Richard M. Buxbaum

Richard M. Buxbaum

No abstract provided.

Collaborating With Students As Co-Authors, Wendy B. Davis

Wendy B. Davis

The purpose of this article is to describe the process of collaborating with students enrolled in a course to produce a casebook to be published after the conclusion of the course. I have written two published casebooks, with significant portions of each book written by students as contributing authors. Utilization of a variety of teaching methods facilitates learning by our students. While this article only describes one end- result, the creation of a casebook, the process of creating that book involves many different teaching methods, thus many different opportunities to address students’ differing learning styles. Students learn best when they …

Advancing An Adaptive Standard Of Strict Scrutiny For Content-Based Commercial Speech Regulation, Nat S. Stern

Nat S Stern

Over the course of several decades, commercial speech has largely shed its “subordinate status” as a class of expression ungoverned by ordinary First Amendment principles. This Article argues that the Supreme Court should take the next logical step in the evolution of its commercial speech doctrine and subject content-based regulation in this area to the standard of strict scrutiny applied elsewhere. As in other settings, strict scrutiny here could be adapted to its context. In particular, strict scrutiny in the commercial realm could incorporate the understanding that government has a powerful interest in preventing false, deceptive, and misleading representation. In …

Building Bio-Based Supply Chains: Theoretical Perspectives On Innovative Contract Design, A. Bryan Endres, Jody M. Endres, Jeremy J. Stoller

A. Bryan Endres

By 2030, the United States will consume over 300 million tons of forest and agricultural feedstocks for energy production. The supply chain necessary to provide unprecedented quantities of new “bioenergy crops,” however, is fraught with uncertainty. The vertically integrated model the nascent sector currently uses may have limited opportunity for expansion to meet renewable energy mandates. A hybrid structure is likely to emerge as the industry evolves, in which end-users closely cooperate with a large number of heterogeneous producers through long-term contracting rather than as direct owners or operators of biomass farms. This “vertically coordinated” industry model is dependent on …

Politics And Legal Regulation In The International Business Environment: An Fdi Case Study Of Alstom, S.A., In Israel, Jeffrey A. Van Detta

Jeffrey A. Van Detta

This article identifies and carefully considers the panoply of municipal and international legal issues that arise from a hypothetical Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) by one of the world’s largest Multi-National Enterprises (MNEs). Specifically, the article fleshes out a detailed FDI analytic framework as we considered the hypothesized—yet, entirely plausible—investment by Alstom, S.A., in Israel’s energy sector: joint-venturing with Israel’s Multimatrix, Ltd., to employ Alstom’s world-class wind-power expertise in developing a 75-turbine wind farm on the wind-swept Golan Heights, one of the Occupied Territories.

Among the specific issues addressed are:

1. The political situation in Israel, Syria, and Iran;

2. The …

Public Goods And Contract Standard Clauses: A New Approach, Enrico Baffi

enrico baffi

The aim of this work is to show how it is possible to identify market failures other than those traditionally identified by lawyers and law and economics scholars to justify the mandatory provisions of contracts between professionals and consumers and the equally mandatory provisions governing the abuse of economic dependency. This is a new approach that can be extended to other provisions and appears to rest on fairly solid microeconomic foundations. There is no doubt, however, that many criticisms can be leveled against it. Very briefly, I shall argue that the production of clauses characterized by being rather vague, indeterminate …

Employers United: An Empirical Analysis Of Corporate Political Speech In The Wake Of The Affordable Care Act, Elizabeth Weeks Leonard, Susan Scholz, Raquel Meyer Alexander

Elizabeth A. Weeks

Is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) bad for business? Did the countries' most prominent companies game the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disclosure process to make negative political statements about ObamaCare? Immediately following the ACA's enactment on March 23, 2010, a number of companies drew scrutiny for issuing SEC filings writing off millions – and in AT&T's case, one billion dollars – against expected earnings for 2010 alone, based on a single, discrete tax-law change in the ACA. Congressional and Administration officials accused the firms of being “irresponsible” and using “big numbers to exaggerate the health reform's …

U.S.Foreign Trade Zones, Tax-Free Trade Zones Of The World, And Their Impact On The U.S. Economy, Susan W. Tiefenbrun

Susan W Tiefenbrun

ABSTRACT

U.S. Foreign Trade Zones, Tax-Free Trade Zones of the World, and Their Impact on the United States Economy , by Susan Tiefenbrun

Free trade zones (FTZs) date back to the time of the Phoenicians; they developed in the l970s and proliferated from 1980 until today. FTZs are duty-free areas where goods may be warehoused, processed, sold, serviced, distributed, showcased, packaged, labeled, sorted, assembled, and/or manufactured as finished goods prior to re-exporting them as duty-exempt finished products. More than one 135 countries operate tax-free trade zones. There are more than 3,500 of these zones and subzones all over the world, …

Comparative Negligence And Mitigation Of Damages: Two Sister-Doctrines In Search Of Reunion, Yehuda Adar Dr.

Yehuda Adar Dr.

This article addresses a neglected problem in Anglo-American tort law, namely, the apparent inconsistency between comparative negligence and mitigation of damages. Notwithstanding the now unquestionable victory of comparative negligence over the old all-or-nothing doctrine of contributory negligence, the doctrine of mitigation (or avoidable consequences) seems to retain its doctrinal integrity. Under comparative negligence, any loss that the victim could have avoided is apportioned between the victim and the tortfeasor. In contrast, under the doctrine of mitigation, a tort victim can never recover for any element of loss that could have been avoided. The apparent tension between these two loss allocation …

Consent Order- A Bailout Package For Violators In The Indian Securities Market, Anurag Tripathi, Abhishek Chanda

Anurag Tripathi

Since SEBI was given statutory power in 1992 it has done great deal in both securing the interest of the investors and development of securities market in India. Under the SEBI act, 1992 SEBI came up with elaborate procedure for punishing the violators of the securities laws so as to cause deterrence. However, soon it was realised that SEBI was overburdened with piling up of cases and had short fall in collection of penalty which led to revenue losses to the government. Thus, SEBI came up with the Consent Order Mechanism which is a sort of out of court settlement …

Jurisdiction Of Arbitration Tribunals In France, Ozlem Susler Ms

OZLEM SUSLER MS

This article relates to international commercial arbitration as it examines the jurisdiction of arbitral tribunals to rule on their own jurisdiction. It reviews arbitral jurisdiction in France by considering the principle of compétence- compétence as applied by its national courts. Although this principle is recognised in the national arbitration laws of many jurisdictions, there are some important differences. For instance, there is divergence in relation to the stage at which judicial intervention occurs and the degree of intervention by courts of different countries. Divergence is also observed in the type of judicial review undertaken by the courts. This article focuses …

Federal Common Law And The Courts’ Regulation Of Pre-Litigation Preservation, Joshua Koppel

Joshua M. Koppel

With the proliferation in recent years of electronically stored information and the skyrocketing cost of retaining large amounts of data, issues of preservation have played an increasing role in litigation. Companies and individuals that anticipate that they will be involved in litigation in the future may be obligated to preserve relevant evidence even before litigation is initiated. Because litigation has not yet commenced, they cannot seek clarification regarding their obligations from a court or negotiate them with an adverse party. Statutory or common law preservation duties play a large role in guiding potential litigants in this area.

The federal courts …

Epic Fail: An Institutional Analysis Of Financial Distress, Jonathan C. Lipson

Jonathan C. Lipson

This paper presents an institutional analysis of financial distress. “Institutional analysis” compares the effectiveness of large-scale processes, such as markets, courts, and governments, at solving social problems. Although financial distress is one of our most acute problems, there has been virtually no effort to analyze it from an institutional perspective. This paper begins to fill that gap.

Institutional analysis shows that, contrary to conventional wisdom, financial distress is not a problem that courts, such as bankruptcy courts, usually solve by themselves. Instead, it is increasingly a problem that political organs (whether elected or regulatory) both create and purport to resolve. …

Hydropower: It's A Small World After All, Gina Warren

Gina Warren

Global warming is here. As exhibited by the recent droughts, heat waves, severe storms and floods, climate change is no longer a question for the future, but a problem for the present. Of the many ways to help combat climate change, this article discusses the use of the most abundant renewable energy source on the plant – water. While large-scale hydropower (think Hoover Dam) is unlikely to see increased development due to its negative impact on the environment, fish, and wildlife, small-scale hydropower (think a highly technologically-advanced water mill) is environmentally-friendly and would produce clean, renewable energy to benefit local …

Risk Based Student Loans, Michael Simkovic

Michael N Simkovic

Credit markets serve a vital function in capitalist economies: evaluating the riskiness of a range of possible investments and channeling resources toward those investments that investors believe are most likely to prove successful. This process is known as the “risk-based pricing” of credit. Ideally, risk-based pricing should lead to lower cost of capital for lower risk investment choices with larger rewards, and therefore more investment in such promising activities. Conversely, risk-based pricing should lead to higher costs of capital, and therefore less investment, in high-risk activities with relatively low rewards. If creditors are well informed and analytic, and borrowers respond …

Building A Better America: Tax Expenditure Reform And The Case Of State And Local Government Bonds And Build America Bonds, Blaine G. Saito

Blaine G. Saito

Currently most subnational government borrowing in the United States is done via tax-exempt muni bonds. But they are riddled with problems. They are inefficient at delivering the subsidy, and they create economic distortions of investment choices. They are inequitable, and they have significant democratic deficiencies. Direct payment Build America Bonds (BABs) provide an alternative, as they directly pay a cash subsidy to a subnational government. While there are simple technical problems that can easily be remedied, BABs face significant political hurdles that will prevent the permanence of the program. Policy entrepreneurship is a way forward. The piece also discusses how …

Revisiting And Re-Evaluating Omnicare 10 Years Later, Megan Wischmeier Shaner

Megan Wischmeier Shaner

Abstract Known as one of the premier business courts in the country, very few decisions of the Delaware Supreme Court have garnered as much criticism as Omnicare, Inc. v. NCS Healthcare, Inc. In a court famously known for issuing unanimous decisions, Omnicare led to two separate dissenting opinions. In the dissents and in the years since its issuance, the majority’s decision has been faulted not only for its doctrinal shortcomings, but also for its potentially negative impact on M&A activity and its poor corporate policy implications. This has led many academics and practitioners to ask whether Omnicare was a normatively …

Revisiting And Re-Evaluating Omnicare 10 Years Later, Megan Wischmeier Shaner

Megan Wischmeier Shaner

Abstract Known as one of the premier business courts in the country, very few decisions of the Delaware Supreme Court have garnered as much criticism as Omnicare, Inc. v. NCS Healthcare, Inc. Indeed, much of the criticism originated from the court itself; in a court famously known for issuing unanimous decisions, Omnicare led to two separate dissenting opinions. In the dissents and in the years since its issuance, the majority’s decision has been faulted not only for its doctrinal shortcomings, but also for its potentially negative impact on merger and acquisition activity and its poor corporate policy implications. This has …

Revisiting And Re-Evaluating Omnicare 10 Years Later, Megan Wischmeier Shaner

Megan Wischmeier Shaner

Abstract Known as one of the premier business courts in the country, very few decisions of the Delaware Supreme Court have garnered as much criticism as Omnicare, Inc. v. NCS Healthcare, Inc. Indeed, much of the criticism originated from the court itself; in a court famously known for issuing unanimous decisions, Omnicare led to two separate dissenting opinions. In the dissents and in the years since its issuance, the majority’s decision has been faulted not only for its doctrinal shortcomings, but also for its potentially negative impact on merger and acquisition activity and its poor corporate policy implications. This has …

Illuminating Corruption Pathways: Modifying The Fcpa’S “Grease Payment” Exception To Galvanize Anti-Corruption Movements In Developing Nations, Ivan Perkins

Ivan Perkins

The Article proposes a new web-based reporting and publication system for “grease” or “facilitating” payments under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”). The FCPA penalizes the bribery of foreign government officials, but contains an exception for facilitating payments, made to expedite “routine governmental actions” such as mail or telephone services. Noting the ambiguities within the exception, many commentators and practitioners have called for its abolition. The Article proposes a different solution: entities making facilitating payments should be required to report these payments to the Department of Justice (“DOJ”). Then, the DOJ would publish this information on a website, with graphics …

If The Shoe Of The Sec Doesn't Fit: Self-Regulatory Organizations And Absolute Immunity, Jennifer M. Pacella, Esq.

Jennifer M. Pacella, Esq.

In recent years, the absolute legal immunity granted to self-regulatory organizations (“SROs”) in the securities industry has incited increasingly controversial concerns about the lack of accountability of financial regulators. Although SROs like the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) are deemed to “stand in the shoes” of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) by carrying out delegated, quasi-governmental duties in monitoring securities markets, their alternate role as private, commercial entities raises questions as to the fairness of expansive SRO immunity. Plaintiffs have historically been denied any redress even in instances of alleged SRO fraud, misconduct and bad faith. Earlier this year, …

Vertical Boilerplate, James Gibson

James Gibson

Despite what we learn in law school about the “meeting of the minds,” most contracts are merely boilerplate -- take-it-or-leave-it propositions. Negotiation is nonexistent; we rely on our collective market power as consumers to regulate contracts’ content. But boilerplate imposes certain information costs, because it often arrives late in the transaction and is hard to understand. If those costs get too high, then the market mechanism fails. So how high are boilerplate’s information costs? A few studies have attempted to measure them, but they all use a “horizontal” approach -- i.e., they sample a single stratum of boilerplate and assume …