Digital Commons Network^™

Fool's Gold? Equity Compensation & The Mature Startup, Abraham Cable

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Democratizing Entrepreneurship: Online Documents, Tools, And Startup Know-How, Jeff Thomas, Praveen Kosuri, Bernice Grant

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Digitocracy, Joel R. Reidenberg

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Andrea Yates: A Continuing Story About Insanity, Deborah W. Denno

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Internationalization Of Sources Of Labor Law, James J. Brudney

Faculty Scholarship

This article examines in depth an important but underappreciated development in international labor law: how norms promulgated by the International Labor Organization (ILO) have affected the development and implementation of domestic labor laws and practices since the early 1990s. The newly globalized focus of labor law—energized by substantial expansions in international trade and investment—has been recognized by scholars, practitioners, and governments, but it has not previously been explored and analyzed in this systematic way.

The article focuses on two central regulatory areas—child labor and freedom of association—and relies on doctrinal and policy developments in these areas, as evidenced by the …

Hurricanes, Fraud, And Insurance: The Supreme Court Weighs In On, But Does Not Wade Into, The Concurrent Causation Conundrum In State Farm Fire And Casualty Company V. Rigsby, Chris French

Faculty Scholarship

In the December 6, 2016 Supreme Court decision, State Farm v. Rigsby, a homeowner’s house was damaged by Hurricane Katrina. The homeowner had homeowners insurance with State Farm and a flood insurance policy that was administered by State Farm on behalf of the federal government. The claims adjusters assigned by State Farm to handle the homeowner’s claim allegedly were instructed by State Farm to misclassify wind damage as flood damage in order to shift State Farm’s own liability for the loss to the federal government. The claims handlers filed a lawsuit against State Farm under the False Claims Act …

Insurance Policies: The Grandparents Of Contractual Black Holes, Chris French

Faculty Scholarship

In their recent article, The Black Hole Problem in Commercial Boilerplate, Professors Stephen Choi, Mitu Gulati, and Robert Scott identify a phenomenon found in standardized contracts they describe as “contractual black holes.” The concept of black holes comes from theoretical physics. Under the original hypothesis, the gravitational pull of a black hole is so strong that once light or information is pulled past an event horizon into a black hole, it cannot escape. In recent years, the theory has been reformulated and now the hypothesis is that some information can escape, but it is so degraded that it is virtually …

Reforming Modern Appraisal Litigation, Minor Myers, Charles R. Korsmo

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Financing The Benefit Corporation, Dana Brakman Reiser, Steven A. Dean

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Story Of Land, Christina Mulligan

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Democratizing Criminal Justice Through Contestation And Resistance, Jocelyn Simonson

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Working Sex Words, Anita Bernstein

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Measuring Diversity, Yuvraj Joshi

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

State Action Doctrine And The Logic Of Constitutional Containment, Jud Mathews

Faculty Scholarship

Deriding the state action doctrine is one of the great pastimes of American constitutional law. It has been described as a shamble and "incoherent." On its face, the core concept seems straightforward enough constitutional rights are rights against the government. But what counts as the "state action" that triggers the protection of rights seems to shift, maddeningly, from case to case in the Supreme Court's state action jurisprudence.

In this article, I aim to help make some sense of why the state action doctrine has developed as it has by setting it in a comparative and historical frame. It can …

Brief Of Amici Curiae Glbtq Legal Advocates & Defenders Et Al. In Support Of Respondent In Gloucester County School Board V. G.G., Sjc 16-273, Jennifer Levi, Shannon P. Minter, Dean Richlin, Amanda Hainsworth, Rachel Hutchinson, Emily J. Nash

Faculty Scholarship

Amici brief submitted by the GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and Foley Hoag, LLP. to the Supreme Court of the United States in the case of Gloucester County School Board v. G.G., by His Next Friend and Mother, Deirdre Grimm. The brief argues that the Court should reject the school board’s claim that privacy interests justify its discriminatory policy for three reasons. First, there is no basis for the creation of a new privacy right that justifies excluding transgender students from shared restrooms. Second, nothing in Title IX or its regulations supports the School …

How Women Could Save The World, If Only We Would Let Them: From Gender Essentialism To Inclusive Security, Catherine Powell

Faculty Scholarship

We increasingly hear that empowering women and placing them in positions of leadership will lead to a safer, more prosperous world. The UN Security Council’s groundbreaking resolutions on Women Peace, and Security (WPS) — and U.S. law implementing these commitments — rest on the assumption that women’s participation in peace and security matters will lead to more sustainable peace, because women presumably “perform” in ways that reduce conflict, violence, and extremism. This idea is of heightened importance today because women are still vastly underrepresented in positions of leadership in the peace and security field, having yet to “shatter that highest …

Contextualization Shadow Conversations, James J. Brudney

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

What Mdl And Class Action Have In Common, Howard M. Erichson

Faculty Scholarship

This short article responds to Elizabeth Chamblee Burch's article, Monopolies in Multidistrict Litigation, 70 Vand. L. Rev. 67 (2017). Burch argues that lawyers in MDL leadership positions use their power to negotiate settlements that favor themselves over the plaintiffs they purport to represent. She points to particular terms that lawyers routinely insert in mass settlements. She contrasts MDL with class actions, where procedural safeguards presumably protect class members' interests. My response contends that Burch's concerns about MDL are on target, but that class actions, rather than providing a neat contrast, reveal powerful parallels to the ethical and procedural concerns she …

The Futility Of Law And Development: China And The Dangers Of Exporting American Law, Martin S. Flaherty

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Natural Born Citizen, Thomas H. Lee

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Color Of Kinship, Robin A. Lenhardt

Faculty Scholarship

This Article addresses the need for family law scholarship that better theorizes and grapples with how race informs American life in the 21st Century. Family law scholars have been instrumental in documenting and advocating for recognition of the “new kinship”—familial relationships and affective ties forged outside of marriage and amidst dramatic demographic shifts. In doing so, though, they have largely ignored race, focusing instead on matters such as gender or class. The assumption is that kinship is raceneutral. But, in fact, kinship has a color. Part II explores this reality by analyzing Cramblett v. Midwest Sperm Banks, LLC, a case …

Protean Statutory Interpretation In The Courts Of Appeals, James J. Brudney, Lawrence Baum

Faculty Scholarship

This Article is the first in-depth empirical and doctrinal analysis of differences in statutory interpretation between the courts of appeals and the Supreme Court. It is also among the first to anticipate how the Supreme Court’s interpretive approach may shift with the passing of Justice Scalia.

We begin by identifying factors that may contribute to interpretive divergence between the two judicial levels, based on their different institutional structures and operational realities. In doing so, we discuss normative implications that may follow from the prospect of such interpretive divergence. We then examine how three circuit courts have used dictionaries and legislative …

Fear And Firearms, Darrell A. H. Miller

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Sub-Regional Courts In Africa: Litigating The Hybrid Right To Freedom Of Movement, Laurence R. Helfer

Faculty Scholarship

Human rights attorneys and civil society groups in Africa have recently focused their advocacy efforts on sub-regional courts associated with economic integration communities in East, West and Southern Africa. The East African Court of Justice (EACJ), the Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and the Tribunal of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have received few suits challenging trade restrictions and other barriers to sub-regional integration. Instead, and surprisingly, the courts’ dockets are dominated by complaints alleging violations of international human rights law.
This article offers the first analysis of EACJ, ECOWAS Court and …

Aggregation As Disempowerment: Red Flags In Class Action Settlements, Howard M. Erichson

Faculty Scholarship

Class action critics and proponents cling to the conventional wisdom that class actions empower claimants. Critics complain that class actions over-empower claimants and put defendants at a disadvantage, while proponents defend class actions as essential to consumer protection and rights enforcement. This Article explores how class action settlements sometimes do the opposite. Aggregation empowers claimants’ lawyers by consolidating power in the lawyers’ hands. Consolidation of power allows defendants to strike deals that benefit themselves and claimants’ lawyers while disadvantaging claimants. This Article considers the phenomenon of aggregation as disempowerment by looking at specific settlement features that benefit plaintiffs’ counsel and …

The Economic Justice Imperative For Transactional Law Clinics, Lynnise E. Pantin

Faculty Scholarship

The economic, political, and social volatility of the sixties and seventies, out of which clinical legal education was born, has certain mythical qualities for most law students, and perhaps some law professors. America still bears the scars of the economic policies of those previous eras, such as redlining, blockbusting, poverty and urban decay. While the realities of the era may seem out of reach for many of our students, those arising out of that era have contributed to the wealth gap in this country, which has worsened over the last twenty years. Now more than ever, society needs social justice …

Better Locker Rooms: It’S Not Just A Transgender Thing, George B. Cunningham, Erin E. Buzuvis

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Blurred Lines—Intersexuality And The Law: An Annotated Bibliography, Pat Newcombe

Faculty Scholarship

This Bibliography gathers, organizes, and annotates relevant law review articles (and one monograph) dealing with legal issues concerning intersexuality. Articles are included to introduce researchers to the intricacies involved in the discussion of intersexuality, to examine issues of medical interventions, and to explore possibilities of judicial relief within the existing framework.

U.S. Nonprofit Activity In Cuba: Challenges In Cuban Law And Practice, Laura Spitz, Elizabeth Brundige, Lucía Domínguez Cisneros, Eduardo Peñalve

Faculty Scholarship

American regulatory restrictions on nonprofit activity in Cuba have decreased dramatically over the past three years.1 As a result, interest in undertaking projects in Cuba among U.S. nonprofits has increased significandy over that same period. Despite President Trump's recent directive that rolled back several aspects of the previous administration's Cuba policy and ordered new restrictions on U.S.-Cuban engagement, 2 U.S. nonprofits are unlikely to be deterred from seeking to expand their engagement in Cuba over the long term. As nonprofits explore potential opportunities and navigate legal and political challenges, this Article seeks to advance the conversation 3 by answering the …

Oil And Gas Secured Transactions In Kansas, Joseph A. Schremmer

Faculty Scholarship

Successfully handling oil and gas secured transactions in Kansas requires understanding two bodies of law: Article 9 of the Kansas Commercial Code (Article 9 or UCC) and Kansas real property law. This article surveys the creation, perfection, priority, and enforcement of consensual liens in oil and gas property under both sets of rules.