Family Law Commons^™

Shareholder Expression In A Time Of Heightened Political Tension, Aaron A. Dhir

Seattle University Law Review

In this article, I provide context for my forthcoming research project on shareholder proposals and racial equity audits. Since the murder of George Floyd in May of 2020, progressive shareholder actors have increasingly used the proposal mechanism to advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice-related goals. These proposals have frequently gone beyond requesting the usual corporate fare of diversity trainings, intersectionality workshops, affinity groups, etc. Instead, a more ambitious type of proposal asks corporate America to conduct racial equity audits, defined as “an independent, objective and holistic analysis of a company’s policies, practices, products, services and efforts to combat systemic racism …

Corporate Governance Speech, Sarah C. Haan

Seattle University Law Review

The State has always regulated the intra-firm communications that make corporate governance possible, most commonly by mandating disclosures of information by a corporation to its shareholders. Some such laws are labeled “securities regulation,” but securities regulation is a broad category that extends to speech by actors who are outside the corporate enterprise as well. Also, the conventional securities regulation category does not capture all such laws; other examples, including informationforcing mandates, can be found in state corporate law. This Article uses the term “corporate governance speech” to describe the communications among shareholders, directors, and officers through which corporate governance is …

Dark Accounting Matter, Colleen Honigsberg

Seattle University Law Review

Physicists calculate that approximately 85% of the matter in the universe is composed of “dark matter” that “does not absorb, reflect, or emit electromagnetic radiation and is therefore difficult to detect.” The S&P 500 currently trades at a price-to-book value of 4.2, suggesting that book value accounts for less than 20% of the S&P 500’s market value. The remaining 80% appears nowhere in these firms’ balance sheets—it is invisible to contemporary accounting techniques and constitutes “dark accounting matter.”

Some “dark accounting matter” is composed of factors commonly described as components of “ESG.” Human capital, for example, is an intangible asset …

The Employees’ Dilemma: Balancing Internal Reporting, Whistleblowing, And Insider Trading Risks, Geeyoung Min

Seattle University Law Review

The Essay examines how recent developments in insider trading regulations and whistleblower reward programs can lead to unintended and counterproductive results of discouraging employees from using internal reporting channels within corporate compliance programs. While the presence of a robust and well-functioning corporate compliance program is a critical factor both in mitigating the level of public enforcement actions against companies and in protecting corporate managers from liability in private litigation, these programs often provide little incentive for employees to report potential misconduct internally.

Corporate compliance programs are designed to promote the upward information flow within the company, which is essential for …

How The Antidiscrimination Law Of Commercial Transactions Really Works, Helen Norton

Seattle University Law Review

A variety of businesses now cite 303 Creative when seeking First Amendment protection for their refusal to serve certain customers based on those customers’ protected class status. How this litigation will play out remains to be seen. But future courts need not, and should not, repeat the 303 Creative Court’s misunderstanding of how the antidiscrimination law of commercial transactions actually works.

Part I of this Essay explains the Court’s longstanding understanding of the antidiscrimination law of commercial transactions, and then describes the Court’s failure to engage with this precedent in 303 Creative. Part II then identifies the 303 Creative decision’s …

But-For Or Not But-For, The Question Is Answered, Samuel Rawlings Barnett Jr.

Belmont Law Review

In But-For or Not But-For, the Question Is Answered, Samuel Rawlings Barnett Jr. examines the ongoing federal circuit split regarding the appropriate causation standard for retaliation claims under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). While some circuits apply a “motivating factor” standard, others require plaintiffs to prove “but-for” causation. The Note situates this division within the Supreme Court’s broader shift in employment discrimination jurisprudence from the mixed-motive framework of Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins to the stricter “but-for” standard articulated in Gross, Nassar, and Comcast. Through close statutory analysis of 29 U.S.C. § 2615(a)(1) and § …

Historical Perspectives On Family Law: An Annotated Bibliography, Allen Roston

Faculty Works

This bibliography lists articles and books that provide historical perspectives on major aspects of family law. It focuses on legal history, but it includes some works that look at family relationships and issues through the broader lenses of social history, cultural history, or other historical approaches.

Volume 48 Masthead, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Volume 48 Masthead

Voting Matters: Materiality Considerations And The Shareholder Vote, Renee M. Jones

Seattle University Law Review

For the shareholder franchise to have meaning, shareholders must have access to relevant information to inform their voting decisions. The securities laws’ disclosure requirements play an essential role in informing the shareholder vote.

This Essay focuses on the question of the materiality of information in the context of shareholder voting. It addresses the question of whether ESG-related information is material, positioning the materiality inquiry within the context of shareholders’ voting decisions. It explores the definition of materiality with a focus on the “reasonable investor” concept embedded within the definition. The Essay argues that the implicit expectations of many commentators that …

Volume 48 Masthead, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Volume 48 Masthead

Understanding The Big Three’S Wavering Support Of Environmental And Social Shareholder Proposals, Jeff Schwartz, Jefferson Jensen

Seattle University Law Review

Because of their substantial equity portfolios, BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street (the Big 3) are central players in corporate governance. It is, therefore, critical to understand how they vote. One puzzle is that their support for shareholder proposals on environmental and social matters appears to waiver. In 2020, for instance, BlackRock supported 11.1% of environmental proposals at S&P 500 firms. In 2021, it seemingly reversed course, supporting 55.2%. It then flipped again, supporting 32.1% in 2022. Such statistics suggest that the Big 3 are constantly changing their views on these topics. This Article seeks to better understand whether this is …

Volume 48 Masthead, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Volume 48 Masthead

Procréation Assistée Par Autrui Et Fragmentation De La Maternité : Le Piège Du Récit Unique, Kévin Lavoie, Isabel Côté, Roxane Guay

Canadian Journal of Family Law

La fragmentation de la maternité introduite par la fécondation in vitro est une source de préoccupations sociales et scientifiques depuis une quarantaine d’années. Les débats actuels sur la grossesse pour autrui et le don d’ovules, alimentés par les mouvements féministes et les discours publics, font état d’opinions et de convictions autour de l’infertilité, de la conception de la maternité et de la disponibilité du corps des femmes dans le processus d’enfantement. Les tensions qui avivent ces débats sociaux et intellectuels opposent deux visions polarisées au sein desquelles la voix des femmes concernées est peu entendue. Cet article vise à situer …

Introduction To The Special Issue: Current Challenges In Reproduction And Law, Régine Tremblay

Canadian Journal of Family Law

No abstract provided.

Front Matter

Canadian Journal of Family Law

No abstract provided.

Private Wrongs, Public Impact: The Case For A Tort Of Family Violence, Pahul Gupta

Canadian Journal of Family Law

This research paper investigates the adequacy of current civil actions available against a particular form of family violence: intimate partner violence (“IPV”). The paper identifies the torts which are most commonly applicable in the IPV context and argues that they fail to capture the cumulative harm associated with such conduct. It identifies the shortcomings of such causes of actions and analyzes the multifaceted factors contributing to the limitations and challenges IPV victims face when pursuing such claims.

The paper provides a brief background on the historical and legal context of family violence before moving on to identifying the various causes …

Front Matter

Canadian Journal of Family Law

No abstract provided.

Intersecting Abuse Of People And Animals In Practice: Implications Of The Connection Between Intimate Partner Violence And Animal Abuse For Family Justice Professionals, Amy Fitzgerald, Valerie Monckton, Kerri Thomson, Kendra Coulter

Canadian Journal of Family Law

According to recent estimates, 60% of Canadian homes have at least one cat or dog, and the number continues to climb. Often considered family members, these animals are vulnerable to family violence. Their presence can also render human victims of violence more vulnerable: research indicates many victims delay leaving their abuser out of concern for their animals or consider returning to the abusive relationship because their abuser has the animal companions. Despite a substantial body of literature documenting the link between intimate partner violence (IPV) and animal abuse, research has not examined how family law professionals encounter and deal with …

Surrogacy Agencies In Canada: Intended Parents' Experiences, Stefanie Carsley

Canadian Journal of Family Law

This article sheds new light on intended parents’ experiences working with surrogacy agencies—businesses that match surrogates with prospective parents. These agencies contravene the Assisted Human Reproduction Act, a federal law that prohibits commercial surrogacy. Interviews with intended parents suggest that some agencies are taking advantage of surrogates and intended parents and lend support to calls to regulate agencies’ practices. This piece will interest scholars and lawmakers advocating for evidence-based law and policy responses to surrogacy in Canada. It broadens the frame relevant to addressing surrogacy beyond relations between surrogates, intended parents, and children to include a commercial sector.

Evaluating Elective Egg Freezing Consent Materials From Canadian Fertility Clinics, Kathleen Hammond

Canadian Journal of Family Law

The use of elective egg freezing (EEF) has rapidly increased in recent years. Despite its popularity, scholars have documented a host of concerns in relation to the use of this technology, especially given aggressive advertising of EEF by the fertility industry as “insurance” and lack of data about success rates. Informed consent processes, and informed consent materials, are particularly important in situations like EEF where healthy people are undergoing interventions that are neither life nor health preserving. Despite these concerns necessitating a rigorous consent process, no research in Canada has explored consent processes surrounding EEF at Canadian fertility clinics to …

Sorting Out Surrogacy: Three Considerations For Evidence-Informed Law Reform, Vanessa Gruben, Alana Cattapan

Canadian Journal of Family Law

This article draws on novel survey research with surrogates in Canada—the Exploring Surrogates Experiences and Insights Survey—to examine three critical issues for potential law reform: (1) reimbursement and compensation (i.e., payment); (2) the work of surrogacy agencies; and (3) surrogacy arrangements involving foreign intended parents. Following a brief history of the regulation of surrogacy in Canada and a description of the survey’s methods, it explores each of these areas in turn, using the survey results to identify considerations for law reform. It argues that while the current legislative and regulatory framework largely addresses key issues related to commercialization and commodification, …

Testing Our Faith: Why It Is Important To Study The Complexity Of Client Experiences In Family Dispute Resolution, Heather Heavin, Brea Lowenberger, Michaela Keet

Canadian Journal of Family Law

Increasingly across Canada, court-based processes are being recast as forums of ‘last resort’ for family conflict. Studies inviting lawyers to reflect on the success of their collaborative negotiations, mediations, and settlement conferences show optimism—faith that the quality of their clients’ experiences has been more positive, or, at least, less damaging. As researchers, however, we know less about how the parties in the midst of separation and divorce actually experience those processes. The Saskatchewan study described in this article suggests that ‘the inside’ of dispute resolution (DR) processes in family conflict might be as qualitatively painful, negative, and difficult as the …

Family Violence And Child Support: Abuse, Shared Parenting, And Special Expenses, Joanna Radbord

Canadian Journal of Family Law

This article addresses specific sections of the Federal Child Support Guidelines which are particularly problematic for survivors of family violence: (a) section 9 in relation to child support in circumstances of shared parenting time, and (b) section 7 dealing with special or extraordinary expenses. Child support in Canada currently functions as an application-based system within an adversarial context, which creates significant barriers to child support for victims of abuse. In relation to shared parenting, a presumptive reduction in the quantum of child support is likely to exacerbate systemic inequalities and further disadvantage survivors of family violence—disproportionately women and children. This …

“Pick-Up Orders” And Foster Youth In Washington, Lauren Higgins

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Join The Military And Lose Your Kids: An Exploration Of The Adverse Effects Of Military Service In Child Custody Determinations, Cortland T. B. Boechler

Journal of Legislation

Servicemembers do not lose their fundamental rights when they join the military, but in practicality, many lose their parental rights the moment they enlist. Many servicemembers lose custody because judges often interpret service and duty relocations as incongruent to the best interest of the child. Presumably, many judges lack the understanding that military service brings familial stability. That being the case, Congress should add a provision in the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act requiring judges to consider all the benefits of military service in the "best interest of the child" analysis. This solution gives military parents a fighting chance to keep …

A Call For North Carolina To Allow Children To Express Their Wishes In Child Custody Proceedings, A Given Right Established In Binding Precedent, Katelynn Gallimore

Campbell Law Review

The purpose of this Comment is to advocate for amending North Carolina’s child custody statute, N.C. Gen. Stat. section 50-13, to require the court to consider a child’s preference as to their custody arrangements to further align with legal precedent. This Comment illustrates the importance of allowing a child to express their wishes to determine the custodial arrangement that is in the best interests of that child. This Comment uses statutes from other states as guidance for proposing reform to the North Carolina General Assembly to consider and propose new legislation. In addition, the right of a child to express …

Green Dividends: A Case Study In Green Dividends And The Conditions For Private Ordering Solutions, Anne M. Tucker

Seattle University Law Review

This Essay introduces a novel private ordering solution to facilitate corporate investments in pro-social and environmental initiatives: Green dividends. Green dividends are an optional increase in shareholder dividends that are returned to the company to be reinvested in environmental initiatives or kept by a shareholder.

Green dividends pose an alternative to the current gridlocked debate that corporations can’t, won’t, shouldn’t, and shouldn’t even try to act in pro-social or environmental ways. Turning the common refrains on their head converts each narrative into an element for a successful private ordering solution: authority, accountability, shareholder buy-in, and government- backed enforcement. With Green …

Does Climate Disclosure Work To Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions? Emerging Evidence Suggests Cautious Optimism, Cynthia A. Williams

Seattle University Law Review

Significant regulatory resources have been spent developing global, voluntary climate and sustainability disclosure standards, such as the TCFD, TNRD, and ISSB’s Sustainability and Climate Disclosure standards, or domestically required disclosures, such as in the EU and in the U.S. Thus, it is important to evaluate whether this disclosure, particularly voluntary, qualitative disclosure, will have the power to shift the allocation of capital, will have a significant effect on the management of climate risk within firms, and ultimately will reduce climate change risk and biodiversity loss.

In this Article, several interrelated questions will be discussed. First, what does the empirical evidence …

Co-Parents With Benefits, Jessica Feinberg

Faculty Publications

The relationshipbetween individuals who share a common child merits significant legal and societal attention. An increasingly high percentageofchildren are being raisedby parents who are not married to each other, and modern social science research demonstrates that the quality of the relationship between co-parents has serious implications for children's well-being. When co-parentage is unaccompanied by marriage, however, the law historically has attachedfew, if any, rights and obligations to the relationship. This historical disregard for the relationship between non-marital co- parents fails to promote children's best interests. Children whose parents are not marriedto each other should not be excludedfrom the benefits that …

Safer Futures: Strategies For Enhancing Collaboration Between Law Enforcement And Child Welfare Agencies In Preventing Fatal Child Abuse, Kayla M. Brown

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.