Digital Commons Network^™

Improving Hedge Fund Governance, Houman B. Shadab

Articles & Chapters

This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the internal governance of hedge funds. The primary components of hedge fund governance are investors with a high propensity to exercise their short-term redemption rights; managers with high pay performance sensitivity, because they are being compensated with an annual performance-based fee plus earnings from their own investment in the funds they manage; sophisticated investors who demand quality governance; and short-term creditors and derivatives counterparties who provide close monitoring. Hedge fund governance needs the most improvement in the areas of performance reporting (valuation) and the timing of performance-fee calculations. Further, counterintuitively, in some circumstances …

The Forgotten Promise Of Professionalism, Rebecca Roiphe

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

Backlash And Marriage Equality, Arthur S. Leonard

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

Improving Hedge Fund Governance, Houman B. Shadab

Articles & Chapters

This Article provides the first comprehensive scholarly analysis of the internal governance of hedge funds. Hedge fund governance consists of the funds’ underlying legal regime and the practices they adopt in response to lacking permanent capital and to reduce agency costs. Hedge fund governance is important because better governance can improve investor returns and help managers raise and retain capital. I argue that hedge fund governance is best understood as a type of responsive managerialism. It is a type of managerialism because applicable law and contracting structures give managers uniquely wide-ranging control over the fund and its operations. Hedge fund …

A Champion For African Freedom: Paul Robeson And The Struggle Against Apartheid, Penelope Andrews

Articles & Chapters

On February 28, 2013, I was honored to deliver the Paul Robeson lecture at Columbia Law School, an annual event to commemorate the life and legacy of Paul Robeson, a graduate of Columbia Law School (Class of 1923). This article is a slightly expanded version of my lecture.

This article will have four components: first, it will highlight the achievements of this extraordinary man, an advocate for social justice, a world-renowned artist, and an accomplished sportsman. Second, in this article I explore Paul Robeson’s connections and commitment to the African anti-colonial struggle, and in particular the struggle against apartheid in …

Codes In Context How States, Markets, And Civil Society Shape Adherence To Global Labor Standards, Jodi L. Short, Michael W. Toffel, Melissa Oullet

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Usefulness Of Expired Proprietary (Ex-Pvp) Maize (Zea Mays L.) Germplasm For U.S. Northern Breeding Programs, Md. Abdullah Al Bari

Plant Sciences

Maize (Zea mays L.) inbred lines and hybrids are protected by U.S. Patent and/or Plant Variety Protection Act (PVPA). Protection lasts 20 years and it affects breeding access in a highly confidential and competitive market. This research assessed the usefulness of patent expired short-season maize inbred lines. The study was conducted i) to understand the nature of gene action of a short-season maize breeding sample for agronomy and grain quality traits ii) to identify ex-PVP inbred lines and hybrids as potential breeding sources for short-season maize breeding programs for agronomic, grain quality, and nutritional traits iii) to identify and validate …

Identification And Genomic Analysis Of Stagonospora Nodorum Blotch Susceptibility Genes In Wheat, Gongjun Shi

Plant Sciences

Parastagonospora nodorum is a necrotrophic fungal pathogen that causes the disease Stagonospora nodorum blotch (SNB) on wheat. The fungus produces necrotrophic effectors (NEs), that when recognized by corresponding host genes, cause cell death leading to disease. A novel NE, designated SnTox7, was identified from culture filtrates of isolate Sn6 of P. nodorum. SnTox7 is a small protein with estimated size less than 30 kDa. The interaction between SnTox7 and its corresponding host sensitivity gene, Snn7, explained 33% of the disease variation among a segregating F2 population. The Snn7 gene governs sensitivity to SnTox7 and was delineated to a 2.7 cM …

On The Conceptual Confusions Of Jurisprudence, Aaron J. Rappaport

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Marker Assisted Selection Increases The Efficiency Of Breeding For Potato Virus Y Resistance In Potato, Whitney Ann Harchenko

Plant Sciences

Potato Virus Y (PVY) is an important virus of potato due to the non-persistent mode of transmission by aphids causing yield losses. Genetic resistance is the recommended control since insecticides cannot adequately control the spread of PVY by aphids. The gene Ryadg from S. tuberosum ssp. andigena provides resistance to all strains of PVY. This gene has genetically been mapped to chromosome XI, and linked polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based DNA markers have been identified. This study identified PVY resistant progeny by the use of the molecular sequence-characterized amplified region (SCAR) marker RYSC3. The RYSC3 marker allowed a simple and …

Micropropagation Of The Relict Genus Cercidiphyllum (Cercidiphyllaceae), Craig Henry Carlson

Plant Sciences

Focusing on various aspects of micropropagation with respect to well represented genotypes within Cercidiphyllum, this study is an attempt to broaden the experimental knowledge of the genus. The Tertiary relict Cercidiphyllum (Cercidiphyllaceae) is endemic to Japan and China and consists of two deciduous tree species, common katsura, C. japonicum Sieb. & Zucc. and the hiro-ha-katsura, C. magnificum Nakai. To date, there exists no literature on the in vitro requirements of C. magnificum and limited information on C. japonicum. Prized as specimen trees, the importance of Cercidiphyllum extends beyond its ornamental merit and regarded a multifaceted genetic resource. Subsequent protocols and …

Quinclorac And Aminocyclopyrachlor Movement In Sandy Soils Of The Sheyenne National Grassland, And Control Of Yellow Toadflax With Aminocyclopyrachlor, Jason Wayland Adams

Plant Sciences

Quinclorac and aminocyclopyrachlor leaching potential was evaluated in replicated field conditions in soil from five ecological sites of the Sheyenne National Grassland (SNG). Herbicide concentration was estimated using bioassays. Quinclorac did not leach past approximately 45 cm following 51 cm of precipitation applied over 9 wk and 15 cm of precipitation applied over 48 h. Aminocyclopyrachlor leaching was greater than quinclorac and moved through all soil types following both precipitation events. Quinclorac is suitable for use at the SNG to control leafy spurge; however, aminocyclopyrachlor will not be recommended. Control of yellow toadflax with aminocyclopyrachlor was evaluated at four growth …

Uncovering The Genetic Basis And Characters Association Of Wheat Spike-Related, Agronomic And Quality Traits, Morgan Echeverry-Solarte

Plant Sciences

Modern wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars are characterized by having spikes with fusiform architecture and rachis nodes with one spikelet. However, genotypes with supernumerary spikelets (SS) in which rachis nodes have more than one spikelet exist in nature. Although this may be a promising trait that increases yield components, detailed knowledge about the molecular basis of SS trait and their influence on other wheat traits is still lacking. In the present study, a population of 163 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from an elite line and an exotic line with SS was used to identify QTL for SS and other …

The Legal Culture Of Appropriation Art: The Future Of Copyright In The Remix Age, Richard H. Chused

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

Conservation Easements And The Development Of New Energies: Fracking, Wind Turbines, And Solar Collection, Gerald Korngold

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

Book Review Of Theunis Roux’S “The Politics Of Principle: The First South African Constitutional Court 1995-2005, Stephen Ellmann

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

If We Only Knew What We Know: Open Regulatory Review At The Fda (Policy Essay), Beth Simone Noveck

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

Deals Or No Deals: Integrating Transactional Skills In The First Year Curriculum, Lynnise E. Pantin

Articles & Chapters

In the wake of criticism of legal education from both outside the academy and within, the mandate for developing and graduating practice-ready attorneys has never been clearer. There is a strong desire for law schools to begin graduating students who are practice-ready, meaning that these new attorneys would be prepared for the real practice of law upon graduation. The question of what type of practice remains. At least half, if not more, of all attorneys engage in some form of transactional practice, rather than litigation, or other form of dispute resolution. Transactional practice refers to the art of “planning, negotiating, …

'Friend To The Martyr, A Friend To The Woman Of Shame': Thinking About The Law, Shame And Humiliation, Michael L. Perlin, Naomi Weinstein

Articles & Chapters

This paper considers the intersection between law, humiliation and shame, and how the law has the capacity to allow for, to encourage, or (in some cases) to remediate humiliation, or humiliating or shaming behavior. The need for new attention to be paid to this question has increased exponentially as we begin to also take more seriously international human rights mandates, especially – although certainly not exclusively – in the context of the recently-ratified United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, a Convention that calls for “respect for inherent dignity,” and characterizes "discrimination against any person on the …

Bitcoin Financial Regulation: Securities, Derivatives, Prediction Markets, And Gambling, Jerry Brito, Houman B. Shadab, Andrea Castillo

Articles & Chapters

The next major wave of Bitcoin regulation will likely be aimed at financial instruments, including securities and derivatives, as well as prediction markets and even gambling. While there are many easily regulated intermediaries when it comes to traditional securities and derivatives, emerging bitcoin denominated instruments rely much less on traditional intermediaries such as banks and securities exchanges. Additionally, the block chain technology that Bitcoin introduced for the first time makes completely decentralized markets and exchanges possible, thus eliminating the need for intermediaries in complex financial transactions. In this Article we survey the type of financial instruments and transactions that will …

Performance-Sensitive Debt: From Asset-Based Loans To Startup Financing, Houman B. Shadab

Articles & Chapters

This Article develops a unique theory of performance-sensitive debt and argues that certain revenue-stage startups may be missing out on an important source of capital from asset-based loans. Debt contracts are performance sensitive to the extent any of the borrower’s obligations adjust in response to the performance of the borrower. The three main types of performance sensitivity I identify are (1) a loan’s interest rate adjusting based on the performance of the borrower; (2) the amount of available credit adjusting based on the value of collateral; and (3) renegotiation following breach of a loan covenant. Conceptualizing performance sensitivity as a …

Shareholder Cultivation And New Governance, Tamara Belinfanti

Articles & Chapters

Several formal proposals have been made to address shareholder short-termism and speculative behavior. These include the imposition of a financial transaction tax, changes to the U.S. capital gains tax rate, and the adoption of an Investor Stewardship Code in the United Kingdom. This Article reverses the focus from top-down solutions and instead, focuses on bottom-up grass root solutions that corporations can employ, and in some cases do already employ to achieve substantially the same effect of rewarding certain types of shareholder behavior while discouraging others — a process I refer to as "Shareholder Cultivation." While many of the techniques and …

Empathy And Reasoning In Context: Thinking About Anti-Gay Bullying, Kris Franklin

Articles & Chapters

“Empathy” has negative connotations for many legal theorists, who may conceive of it as subjective, lacking in intellectual rigor, and emphasizing sensitivity over reason. Even those legal scholars who have embraced the importance of empathy in legal work have emphasized its affective dimensions: pointing out that empathy is central to human relations and motivations, and is therefore a crucial lawyering skill. This paper builds on social science literature that identifies both cognitive and affective dimensions to empathy, and recasts empathy as in part a central component to higher-order thinking in law. It draws examples from empathetic reasoning in foundational cases …

The Natural Complexity Of Patent Eligibility, Jacob S. Sherkow

Articles & Chapters

It has long been assumed that the doctrine of patent eligibility’s prohibition of patents on “laws of nature,” “natural phenomena,” and “products of nature” rests on legalistic interpretations of those terms. But there is good reason to doubt this assumption. Since the doctrine’s inception, the Supreme Court has yet to provide any framework, formula, or factors explaining these “natural” terms. Rather, the Court has increasingly fixated on a list of scientific tropes, such as gravity, the heat of the Sun, and extracted metals, that it believes are true examples of “natural laws,” “phenomena,” and “products.”

An actual examination of scientific …

Preliminary Injunctions Post-Mayo And Myriad, Jacob S. Sherkow

Articles & Chapters

The Supreme Court's recent interest in patentable subject matter has had several, unexpected downstream effects on preliminary injunctions in patent disputes.

The Supreme Court has recently expressed increased interest in patent eligibility, or patentable subject matter, the doctrine that limits the types of inventions eligible for patenting. Its two decisions, Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories, Inc., in 2012, and Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc., in 2013, represented the first broad restrictions on patentable subject matter in over thirty years. And later this term, the Court will decide yet another patent eligibility case: Alice Corp. v. CLS …

All His Sexless Patients: Persons With Mental Disabilities And The Competence To Have Sex, Michael L. Perlin, Alison Lynch

Articles & Chapters

With the growth in the field of mental disability law over the past 50 years, very few topics involving persons with mental illness remain taboo or off limits to scholars and judges who face these issues daily. However, discussions of the question of whether persons with mental disabilities have a right to voluntary sexual interaction often touches a raw nerve in conversations about mental disability law, even with those who are practicing in the field, and the discomfort people feel in examining this topic is exacerbated when discussing individuals who are institutionalized.

Although this often appears to be a difficult …

Two South African Men Of The Law Constitutional Conflict And Development: Perspectives From South Asia And Africa, Stephen Ellmann

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

Married Same-Sex Couples Living In Non-Recognition States: A Primer, William P. Lapiana

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

Semi-Wonderful Town, Semi-Wonderful State: Bill Nelson's New York The Making Of A Legal Historian: Reassessing The Work Of William E. Nelson, Edward A. Purcell Jr.

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

Textualism And The Bill Of Rights The Federalist Society National Lawyer's Convention - 2013, Nadine Strossen

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.