Business Commons^™

Are These Game Changers? Developments In The Law Affecting Virtual Currencies, Prepaid Payroll Cards, Online Tribal Lending, And Payday Lenders, Sarah Jane Hughes, Stephen T. Middlebrook

Articles by Maurer Faculty

In the year since our last survey, there have been significant legal developments in the areas of virtual currencies, prepaid payroll cards, online tribal lending, and payday lending. What connects some of these topics is an increasingly common strategy by federal banking regulators to influence and control the actions of entities that are not directly subject to their supervision through the relationships such entities have with regulated financial institutions. These developments also demonstrate robust state legislative and regulatory action relating to the provision of electronic payments and financial services, and document class actions alleging violations of federal and state laws. …

Statedata: The National Report On Employment Services And Outcomes, 2015, John Butterworth, Frank A. Smith, Jean Winsor, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons, Alberto Migliore, Daria Domin, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

This report provides statistics over 25 years from several national datasets that address the status of employment and economic self-sufficiency for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The authors use abbreviations for both intellectual disability (ID) and intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in this report. We do this because data sources vary in the specific target groups that can be described.

We provide a comprehensive overview that describes national trends in employment for people with IDD, and the appendices provide individual state profiles with data from several sources. These include the ICI’s IDD Agency National Survey of Day and Employment …

The Mess At Morgan: Risk, Incentives And Shareholder Empowerment, Jill E. Fisch

All Faculty Scholarship

The financial crisis of 2008 focused increasing attention on corporate America and, in particular, the risk-taking behavior of large financial institutions. A growing appreciation of the “public” nature of the corporation resulted in a substantial number of high profile enforcement actions. In addition, demands for greater accountability led policymakers to attempt to harness the corporation’s internal decision-making structure, in the name of improved corporate governance, to further the interest of non-shareholder stakeholders. Dodd-Frank’s advisory vote on executive compensation is an example.

This essay argues that the effort to employ shareholders as agents of public values and, thereby, to inculcate corporate …

The Mcdonaldization Of Academic Libraries?, Brian Quinn

Copyright, Fair Use, Scholarly Communication, etc.

George Ritzer, a sociologist at the University of Maryland, has proposed an influential thesis that suggests that many aspects of the fast food industry are making their way into other areas of society. This article explores whether his thesis, known as the McDonaldization thesis, is applicable to academic libraries. Specifically, it seeks to determine to what extent academic libraries may be considered McDonaldized, and if so, what effect McDonaldization may be having on them. It also investigates some possible alternatives to McDonaldization, and their implications for academic libraries.

"We're Cool" Statements After Omnicare: Securities Fraud Suits For Failures To Comply With The Law, James D. Cox

Faculty Scholarship

As part of a symposium celebrating the multiple contributions of the late Alan Bromberg, this article examines implications flowing from the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Omnicare Inc. v. Laborers District Council Construction Industry Pension Fund. Because Omnicare lands so squarely on the Court’s earlier opaque opinion in Virginia Bankshares, Inc. v. Sandberg addressing the treatment of the materiality of opinion statements, Omnicare is the new currency in the realm that will have far-reaching implications. In Virginia Bankshares, the Supreme Court quickly concluded shareholders would attach significance to the board of directors’ statement that the cash-out merger …

A Market-Oriented Analysis Of The 'Terminating Access Monopoly' Concept, Jonathan E. Nuechterlein, Christopher S. Yoo

All Faculty Scholarship

Policymakers have long invoked the concept of a “terminating access monopoly” to inform communications policy. Roughly speaking, the concept holds that a consumer-facing network provider, no matter how small or how subject to retail competition, generally possesses monopoly power vis-à-vis third-party senders of communications traffic to its customers. Regulators and advocates have routinely cited that concern to justify regulatory intervention in a variety of contexts where the regulated party may or may not have possessed market power in any relevant retail market.

Despite the centrality of the terminating access monopoly to modern communications policy, there is surprisingly little academic literature …

The Problem With Consenting To Insider Trading, Leo Katz

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Moore’S Law, Metcalfe’S Law, And The Theory Of Optimal Interoperability, Christopher S. Yoo

All Faculty Scholarship

Many observers attribute the Internet’s success to two principles: Moore’s Law and Metcalfe’s Law. These precepts are often cited to support claims that larger networks are inevitably more valuable and that costs in a digital environment always decrease. This Article offers both a systematic description of both laws and then challenges the conventional wisdom by exploring their conceptual limitations. It also explores how alternative mechanisms, such as gateways and competition, can permit the realization benefits typically attributed to Moore’s Law and Metcalfe’s Law without requiring increases in network size.

Rediscovering Corporate Governance In Bankruptcy, David A. Skeel Jr.

All Faculty Scholarship

In this Essay on Lynn LoPucki and Bill Whitford’s corporate reorganization project, written for a symposium honoring Bill Whitford, I begin by very briefly describing its historical antecedents. The project draws on the insights and perspectives of two closely intertwined traditions: the legal realism of 1930s, whose exemplars included William Douglas and other participants in the SEC study; and the law in action movement at the University of Wisconsin. In Section II, I briefly survey the key contributions of the corporate governance project, which punctured the then-conventional wisdom about the treatment of shareholders in bankruptcy, managers’ principal allegiance, and many …

A Signal Or A Silo? Title Vii's Unexpected Hegemony, Sophia Z. Lee

All Faculty Scholarship

Title VII’s domination of employment discrimination law today was not inevitable. Indeed, when Title VII was initially enacted, its supporters viewed it as weak and flawed. They first sought to strengthen and improve the law by disseminating equal employment enforcement throughout the federal government. Only in the late 1970s did they instead favor consolidating enforcement under Title VII. Yet to labor historians and legal scholars, Title VII’s triumphs came at a steep cost to unions. They write wistfully of an alternative regime that would have better harmonized antidiscrimination with labor law’s recognition of workers’ right to organize and bargain collectively …

From Chrysler And General Motors To Detroit, David A. Skeel Jr.

All Faculty Scholarship

In the past five years, three of the most remarkable bankruptcy cases in American history have come out of Detroit: the bankruptcies of Chrysler and General Motors in 2009, and of Detroit itself in 2012. The principal objective of this Article is simply to show that the Grand Bargain at the heart of the Detroit bankruptcy is the direct offspring of the bankruptcy sale transactions that were used to restructure Chrysler and GM. The proponents of Detroit’s “Grand Bargain” never would have dreamed up the transaction were it not for the federal government-engineered carmaker bankruptcies. The Article’s second objective, based …

The Broken Buck Stops Here: Embracing Sponsor Support In Money Market Fund Reform, Jill E. Fisch

All Faculty Scholarship

Since the 2008 financial crisis, in which the Reserve Primary Fund “broke the buck,” money market funds (MMFs) have been the subject of ongoing policy debate. Many commentators view MMFs as a key contributor to the crisis because widespread redemption demands during the days following the Lehman bankruptcy contributed to a freeze in the credit markets. In response, MMFs were deemed a component of the nefarious shadow banking industry and targeted for regulatory reform. The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) misguided 2014 reforms responded by potentially exacerbating MMF fragility while potentially crippling large segments of the MMF industry.

Determining the …

Beyond Gilson: The Art Of Business Lawyering, Praveen Kosuri

All Faculty Scholarship

Thirty years ago, Ronald Gilson asked the question, “what do business lawyers really do?” Since that time legal scholars have continued to grapple with that question and the implicit question of how business lawyers add value to their clients. This article revisits the question again but with a more expansive perspective on the role of business lawyer and what constitutes value to clients.

Gilson put forth the theory of business lawyers as transaction cost engineers. Years later, Karl Okamoto introduced the concept of deal lawyer as reputational intermediary. Steven Schwarcz attempted to isolate the role of business lawyer from other …

Confronting The Peppercorn Settlement In Merger Litigation: An Empirical Analysis And A Proposal For Reform, Jill E. Fisch, Sean J. Griffith, Steven M. Davidoff

All Faculty Scholarship

Shareholder litigation challenging corporate mergers is ubiquitous, with the likelihood of a shareholder suit exceeding 90%. The value of this litigation, however, is questionable. The vast majority of merger cases settle for nothing more than supplemental disclosures in the merger proxy statement. The attorneys that bring these lawsuits are compensated for their efforts with a court-awarded fee. This leads critics to charge that merger litigation benefits only the lawyers who bring the claims, not the shareholders they represent. In response, defenders of merger litigation argue that the lawsuits serve a useful oversight function and that the improved disclosures that result …

Completing Government Speech's Unfinished Business: Clipping Garcetti's Wings And Addressing Scholarship And Teaching, Edward J. Schoen

Rohrer College of Business Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Powerlessness Within A Budget-Driven Paradigm: A Grounded Theory Leadership Study From The Perspective Of Michigan Corrections Officers, Timothy Michael Eklin

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

This study explored the lived-experiences of 15 correctional officers and 5 sergeants working in adult state-operated prison facilities in Michigan. In particular, this qualitative grounded theory study revealed the impact that budget driven decision-making had on the lives of correctional officers: its effect on institutional custody, security, and safety. The study finds that many recent policy changes resulted in a sense of powerlessness expressed by the participants of the study. Participants found themselves in a precarious position, situated in between the prison population and the administration. Having an understanding of how correctional officers make meaning of their work in relation …

The Landwarnet School, The Army Learning Model, And Appreciative Inquiry: How Is A Centralized Training Organization Improved By Introducing Decentralization?, Lisa Jayne Stamper

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This exploratory, qualitative case study describes how a centralized training organization (LandWarNet School) was improved by introducing decentralization (Army Learning Model) toward “the best competitive position” or "sweet spot," defined by Brafman and Beckstrom (2006) as “enough decentralization for creativity, but sufficient structure and controls to ensure consistency” (pp. 189, 191). Any presence of the six chaordic elements of a decentralized organization, as described by Hock (1999), was also considered.

LandWarNet School (LWNS) trains approximately 6000 US Army Soldiers annually and is centrally organized. The new Army Learning Model (ALM) is a vision for a more decentralized training approach where …

Building The Case Against Human Trafficking: Developing And Evaluating A Training Module For Law Enforcement Officials, Katie Sanders

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Since the passage of federal legislation to address human trafficking in the United States, efforts to measure and combat the crime have continued to grow (Victims of Trafficking and Violence Prevention Act of 2000). Measuring human trafficking has continued to be a difficult task for researchers, law enforcement, and victim services providers. The combined efforts of these groups has lead to the recognition that without more widespread identification of victims and perpetrators of human trafficking—a crime referred to as modern-day slavery—estimates will continue to be inaccurate. In order to improve the identification process, this specific proposal focuses on law enforcement …

All-Units Discounts As A Partial Foreclosure Device, Yong Chao, Guofu Tan

Yong Chao

All-units discounts (AUD) are pricing schemes that lower a buyer’s marginal price on every unit purchased when the buyer’s purchase exceeds or is equal to a pre-specified threshold. The AUD and related conditional rebates are commonly used in both final-goods and intermediate-goods markets. Although the existing literature has thus far focused on interpreting the AUD as a price discrimination tool, investment incentive program, or rent-shifting instrument, the antitrust concerns on the AUD and related conditional rebates are often their plausible exclusionary effects.

In this article, we investigate strategic effects of volume-threshold based AUD used by a dominant firm in the …

Patent Demands And Initial Public Offerings, Robin C. Feldman, Evan Frondorf

Robin C Feldman

Do Patent Licensing Demands Mean Innovation?, Robin C. Feldman, Mark A. Lemley

Robin C Feldman

A Brief Review Of New Threats And Countermeasures In Digital Crime And Cyber Terrorism, Maurice Dawson

Maurice Dawson

Cyber security is becoming the cornerstone of national security policies in many countries around the world as it is an interest to many stakeholders, including utilities, regulators, energy markets, government entities, and even those that wish to exploit the cyber infrastructure. Cyber warfare is quickly becoming the method of warfare and the tool of military strategists. Additionally, it is has become a tool for governments to aid or exploit for their own personal benefits. For cyber terrorists there has been an overwhelmingly abundance of new tools and technologies available that have allowed criminal acts to occur virtually anywhere in the …

Food Loss And Waste In The European Union: A New Challenge For The Food Law?, Luis González Vaqué

Luis González Vaqué

Food is lost or wasted throughout the supply chain, from initial agricultural production down to final household consumption. In the European Union (EU) food is to a significant extent wasted at the consumption stage, meaning that it is discarded even if it is still suitable for human consumption. Significant losses also occur early in the food supply chains. In low-income countries food is lost mostly during the early and middle stages of the food supply chain; much less food is wasted at the consumer level. The article highlights the losses occurring along the entire food chain, and makes assessments of …

The Impact Of The Future Trade Secrets Directive On The Food Sector, Luis González Vaqué, Isabel Segura Roda

Luis González Vaqué

Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of undisclosed know-how [COM(2013) 813 final de 28 November 2013]. We have explicitly chosen to analyse the proposal’s impact because, with regard to food production, we consider that careful consideration must be given to the extent to which the proposal affects areas such as information about food composition, the functioning of rapid alert systems, methods of traceability, the application of the precautionary principle, and different means of document access. We also believe it is important to acknowledge the intangible nature of the know-how used in …

Food Legislation: The “Teekanne” Case Of 4 June 2015, Luis González Vaqué, Sara Aparicio Hill, Sebastián Romero Melchor

Luis González Vaqué

Articles 2(1)(a)(i) and 3(1)(2) of Directive 2000/13/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 March 2000 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the labelling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs, as amended by Regulation (EC) No 596/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 June 2009, must be interpreted as precluding the labelling of a foodstuff and methods used for the labelling from giving the impression, by means of the appearance, description or pictorial representation of a particular ingredient, that that ingredient is present, even though it is not …

En El Do De La Unión Europea: Registro De Denominaciones De Origen Protegidas, Indicaciones Geográficas Protegidas, Etc. [2015/2], Luis González Vaqué, Cristina Vidreras Pérez

Luis González Vaqué

No abstract provided.

Secrets D'Affaires: L'Urgente Nécessité D'Adopter Une Directive Face A L'Inefficacité De L'Application De L'Accord Sur Les Adpic, Luis González Vaqué

Luis González Vaqué

In November 2013, the Commission proposed a draft directive that will align existing laws against the misappropriation of trade secrets across the EU.

The relevant laws of some Member States do not provide for a legal definition of what a trade secret is. The existing remedies available are also inconsistent, and at times ineffective.

The proposal harmonises the definition of trade secrets in accordance with existing internationally binding standards. It also defines the relevant forms of misappropriation and clarifies that reverse engineering and parallel innovation must be guaranteed, given that trade secrets are not a form of exclusive intellectual property …

Lemons On The Edge Of The Internet: The Importance Of Transparency For Broadband Network Quality, Reza Rajabiun, Catherine Middleton

Reza Rajabiun

Network performance measurements from OECD countries between 2007 and 2012 document a significant increase in the variability of broadband infrastructure quality, which helps explain growing demand for technologies and policies that counteract information asymmetries between network operators and end users. A cross-country analysis documents the negative association between quality uncertainty and variations in digital infrastructure quality. The analysis suggests public policies and business models that promote market transparency can enhance the efficiency of the broadband access market on the edge of the internet and stimulate incentives for the diffusion of next generation platforms.