Law Commons^™

Why Not Tell The Truth?: Deceptive Practices And The Economic Meltdown, Charles W. Murdock

Charles W. Murdock

Today we are witnessing a crisis caused by economic formulae developed without a responsible exercise of judgment and, in many instances, with a shocking disregard for the truth. The virtue of truthfulness is not just some abstract moral principle. Rather, it is a critical component of a well functioning society. As the current situation demonstrates, the lack of regard for truthfulness can have disastrous consequences, not just for our own country, but around the world.

This article will first examine how broadly truth is devalued throughout our society. Second, it will focus on the lack of truthfulness in politics and …

With Avarice Aforethought: Insider Trading And 10b5-1 Plans, Karl T. Muth

Karl T Muth

The 10b5-1 plan and its growing popularity create a variety of governance problems and temptations for executives at publicly-traded corporations. The thought, in creating a safe harbor for such plans, was to allow insiders to diversify their individual holdings while in possession of nonpublic, material information. The 10b5-1 plan allows the actual liquidation transaction to occur while the plan participant is in possession of inside information, so long as the orders or instructions causing the trade were created as part of a "plan" that predates the insider's acquisition of the pertinent information. This creates a sort of time machine, where …