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Full-Text Articles in Law
The Sounds Of Silence: The Libertarian Ethos Of Erisa Preemption, Stephen F. Befort, Christopher J. Kopka
The Sounds Of Silence: The Libertarian Ethos Of Erisa Preemption, Stephen F. Befort, Christopher J. Kopka
Articles
In the Winter of 1996, the Harvard Journal on Legislation published an article entitled in part, The Last Article About the Language of ERISA Preemption?' Absent the question mark, one might have thought it a bold (and hopefully accurate) statement. Yet, as the question mark suggests, no scholar has been able to provide the definitive answer regarding the scope of ERISA preemption.
The Doctrine Of Piercing The Veil In An Era Of Multiple Limited Liability Entities: An Opportunity To Codify The Test For Waiving Owners' Limited Liability Protection, John H. Matheson, Raymond B. Eby
The Doctrine Of Piercing The Veil In An Era Of Multiple Limited Liability Entities: An Opportunity To Codify The Test For Waiving Owners' Limited Liability Protection, John H. Matheson, Raymond B. Eby
Articles
The use of the corporate form of business organization has always provided a firm's owners/shareholders with a presumptive shield from personal liability for the debts of the business. Case-by-case exceptions to this limited-liability shield have developed in each state under the general rubric of “piercing the veil.” Courts and commentators alike have noted the vagueness of the piercing analysis and have questioned the appropriateness of some of the factors employed in that analysis. In addition, new forms of business entities, such as limited liability companies and limited liability partnerships, have been legislatively created over the past several decades, raising the …
The Easy Case For Derivatives Use: Advocating A Corporate Fiduciary Duty To Use Derivatives, Edward Adams, David E. Runkle
The Easy Case For Derivatives Use: Advocating A Corporate Fiduciary Duty To Use Derivatives, Edward Adams, David E. Runkle
Articles
This Article hypothesizes that directors have a duty to shareholders to investigate and evaluate how derivatives could minimize risk to their organization. Even more, corporations have a duty to use derivatives if overall portfolio risk will thereby be reduced. Part I of this Article defines and describes the major types of derivatives and explains how and why they are used. Part II investigates the risks of derivatives, comparing these risks to other investment instruments. Part III introduces a new conceptualization of derivatives through exploration of three issues surrounding their use: (1) brokers' liabilities to investors when financial losses result; (2) …
Why Does A Conservative Court Rule In Favor Of Liberal Government? The Cohen-Spitzer Analysis And The Constitutional Scheme, Daniel Gifford
Why Does A Conservative Court Rule In Favor Of Liberal Government? The Cohen-Spitzer Analysis And The Constitutional Scheme, Daniel Gifford
Articles
No abstract provided.
Unlocking The Mysteries Of Holy Trinity: Spirit, Letter, And History In Statutory Interpretation, Carol Chomsky
Unlocking The Mysteries Of Holy Trinity: Spirit, Letter, And History In Statutory Interpretation, Carol Chomsky
Articles
In 1892, the Supreme Court construed the Alien Contract Labor Act of 1885, which barred importation of “any alien” under contract to perform “labor or service of any kind,” as not prohibiting a New York church from hiring a British pastor to occupy its vacant pulpit. “[A] thing may be within the letter of the statute and yet not within the statute because not within its spirit, nor within the intention of its makers,” wrote Justice David Brewer in Holy Trinity Church v. United States. Brewer's opinion is a touchstone for those seeking to overcome plain statutory language, but is …
A Statutory Model For Corporate Constituency Concerns, Edward S. Adams, John H. Matheson
A Statutory Model For Corporate Constituency Concerns, Edward S. Adams, John H. Matheson
Articles
The modern corporation by its nature creates interdependencies with a variety of groups with whom the corporation has a legitimate concern, such as employees, customers, suppliers, and members of the communities in which the corporation operates. Corporate governance involves a system of contractual and fiduciary duties that influence directors and officers to make decisions consistent with defined obligations. This system requires that directors consider shareholders' interests first and foremost in making corporate decisions because the share-holders are the, "owners," of the corporation. Over the past several decades, a number of states have implemented this policy by enacting constituency statutes. These …
Not "If" But "How": Reflecting On The Aba Commission's Recommendations On Multidisciplinary Practice, John H. Matheson, Edward S. Adams
Not "If" But "How": Reflecting On The Aba Commission's Recommendations On Multidisciplinary Practice, John H. Matheson, Edward S. Adams
Articles
Multidisciplinary practice (MDP) has been aptly described as the, "most important issue facing the legal profession today." The American Bar Association's Commission on Multidisciplinary Practice (Commission) surprised most observers on June 8, 1999 by recommending that the American Bar Association (ABA) amend the Model Rules of Professional Conduct (Model Rules) to allow lawyers to combine with, and share fees with, other professionals within a single professional entity. Under the proposal, lawyers could create partnerships with accountants, developers, engineers, bankers, and all other professionals, thereby giving clients access to one-stop shopping at multidisciplinary firms.
Reassignment Under The Americans With Disabilities Act: Reasonable Accommodation, Affirmative Action, Or Both?, Stephen F. Befort, Tracey Holmes Donesky
Reassignment Under The Americans With Disabilities Act: Reasonable Accommodation, Affirmative Action, Or Both?, Stephen F. Befort, Tracey Holmes Donesky
Articles
One of Congress's principal motivations for enacting the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 1 was to help disabled individuals enter into and remain in the American workplace. In the ADA's "findings and purposes" section, Congress stated that "the Nation's proper goals regarding individuals with disabilities are to assure equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for such individuals." 2 The legislative history is filled with the statements of senators and representatives supporting the Act as a vehicle for bringing individuals with disabilities "into the economic and social mainstream of American life." 3 Legislators viewed the ADA as …
The Curious Incident Of The Workers In The Boardroom, Brett Mcdonnell
The Curious Incident Of The Workers In The Boardroom, Brett Mcdonnell
Articles
In Silver Blaze, Sherlock Holmes investigated the disappearance of a prize horse and the killing of its trainer. At one point in the investigation the officer in charge, Inspector Gregory, asks Holmes, "'Is there any other point to which you would wash to draw my attention?' 2 Holmes replies, "'To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time.""' Gregory says "'The dog did nothing in the night-time."'' "'That was the curious incident,' remarked Sherlock Holmes."'
Esop's Failures: Fiduciary Duties When Managers Of Employee-Owned Companies Vote To Entrench Themselves, Brett Mcdonnell
Esop's Failures: Fiduciary Duties When Managers Of Employee-Owned Companies Vote To Entrench Themselves, Brett Mcdonnell
Articles
Managers, Inc.'s workers own the majority of the company's shares. They do not vote for the board of directors; instead, a trust votes the workers' shares. Managers, Inc.'s own directors appoint the committee that votes the trust's shares. Shockingly, those directors find themselves entrenched, winning repeated reelection under this system. The workers own the firm, but they have little or no say in the management of the firm.
An Analysis Of The Fifty-First Session Of The United Nations Sub-Commission On The Promotion And Protection Of Human Rights, David Weissbrodt, Mayra Gomez, Bret Thiele
An Analysis Of The Fifty-First Session Of The United Nations Sub-Commission On The Promotion And Protection Of Human Rights, David Weissbrodt, Mayra Gomez, Bret Thiele
Articles
The United Nations Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (Sub-Commission), 2 formerly the Sub-Commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, met at the European Headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, from 2 August through 27 August 1999 for its fifty-first session. 3 The Sub-Commission is a subsidiary body of the Commission on Human Rights [End Page 788] (Commission). It is composed of twenty-six members who are nominated by their respective governments and elected to four-year terms by the Commission. Under the principle of geographic distribution, the Sub-Commission has seven members from Africa, …
A Review Of The 51st Session Of The United Nations Sub-Commission On Promotion And Protection Of Human Rights, David Weissbrodt, Mayra Gomez, Bret Thiele
A Review Of The 51st Session Of The United Nations Sub-Commission On Promotion And Protection Of Human Rights, David Weissbrodt, Mayra Gomez, Bret Thiele
Articles
The United Nations Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (Sub-Commission)' met at the European Headquarters of the UN in Geneva, Switzerland, from 2 August through 27 August 1999 for its fifty-first session. The Sub-Commission is a subsidiary body of the Commission on Human Rights (Commission).
Pride And Prejudice: A Study Of Connections, Mary Louise Fellows
Pride And Prejudice: A Study Of Connections, Mary Louise Fellows
Articles
Although customs surrounding attribution require that only I be named as author of this Article, that fact obscures other truths about this Article. 1 One way for readers to appreciate this Article as reflecting group activity at the same time it reflects my own individual effort is the literary allusion in the title to Jane Austen and her work. I feel a particular connection to Jane Austen because she seems neither to have enjoyed nor sought the solitary life many of us imagine novelists live. When Austen finds herself, after ten years of having written virtually nothing, back in a …
Introducing Negotiation And Drafting Into The Contracts Classroom, Carol Chomsky, Maury Landsman
Introducing Negotiation And Drafting Into The Contracts Classroom, Carol Chomsky, Maury Landsman
Articles
It is by now almost a commonplace to say that the first year of law school should include skills-focused opportunities in addition to the massive doses of legal doctrine and analysis that form the core of the first year curriculum. 1 Understanding contracts only through the lens of litigated disputes gives students a very limited picture of what lawyers do with respect to contracts and little opportunity to develop the skills of effective representation and artful and precise drafting needed to avoid such litigation. Moreover, the necessary emphasis on contract doctrine may obscure the degree to which many contract-related problems …
Innovation And Creativity In The Fine Arts: The Relevance And Irrelevance Of Copyright, Daniel J. Gifford
Innovation And Creativity In The Fine Arts: The Relevance And Irrelevance Of Copyright, Daniel J. Gifford
Articles
How have social institutions, customs, and intellectual property laws affected creative activity in the fine arts? This article examines the many relationships between the fine arts and their social and legal environment. For the purposes of this paper, the fine arts embrace painting, sculpture, and (classical) musical composition. As will be shown below, in the arena of the fine arts, the respective roles of subjective factors - factors internal to the artists themselves - and external influences upon them from the larger society have changed dramatically over the last one hundred years. These changes have expanded the role of the …
A Market-Based Solution To The Judicial Clerkship Selection Process, Edward S. Adams
A Market-Based Solution To The Judicial Clerkship Selection Process, Edward S. Adams
Articles
For many years, federal judges and others have labored to reform judicial clerkship hiring so judges might conduct a dignified, collegial, and efficient selection process. To date, however, these reform efforts have had little success. This Article endeavors to forge a solution to the problems endemic to the current judicial clerkship hiring process: lack of collegiality, cut-throat hiring methods, lack of efficiency, and hiring based on inadequate information about candidates. Part I of this Article explores the historical problems in the clerkship hiring process, reviews previously attempted but failed efforts at reform, and identifies problems with such approaches. Part II …