Securities Law Commons^™

The Investor Compensation Fund, Alicia J. Davis

Articles

The prevailing view among securities regulation scholars is that compensating victims of secondary market securities fraud is inefficient. As the theory goes, diversified investors are as likely to be on the gaining side of a transaction tainted by fraud as the losing side. Therefore, such investors should have no expected net losses from fraud because their expected losses will be matched by expected gains. This Article argues that this view is flawed; even diversified investors can suffer substantial losses from fraud, presenting a compelling case for compensation. The interest in compensation, however, should be advanced by better means than are …

The Use And Misuse Of Disclosure As A Regulatory System, Paula J. Dalley

ExpressO

Over the past several decades, legislators and regulators have increasingly turned to disclosure schemes, rather than substantive regulation, to accomplish regulatory goals. Most of these schemes are either expressly or impliedly based on the disclosure-based regulatory system established by the securities acts, which is primarily intended to provide information to traders in an established market and thereby to enhance the operation of the market. A secondary purpose of the securities acts is to alter the behavior of firms and individuals through the operation of the market. Other disclosure schemes usually have similar purposes, but they rarely operate in a market …

Equal Treatment Of Foreign Shareholders In Transnational Securities Class Action Against A Foreign Issuer—A Chinese Example, Clark Yao

ExpressO

As the world economy and financial markets become increasingly more integrated, cross-boarder securities transaction becomes a daily event. Because Unite States has the world’s largest and arguably most liquid capital markets, it has attracted a significant number of foreign companies to cross-list their stocks in a U.S. stock exchange. Unavoidably, such transactions will not only bring out fortune, but also disputes between transacting parties. Relying on the powerful federal securities law , U.S. investors who have bought or sold such stocks have routinely sued foreign stock issuers through class action when the stock prices went down, alleging their loss is …

Legislation And Legitimation: Congress And Insider Trading In The 1980s, Thomas W. Joo

ExpressO

Legislation and Legitimation:

Congress and Insider Trading in the 1980s

Abstract

Orthodox corporate law-and-economics holds that American corporate and securities regulation has evolved inexorably toward economic efficiency. That position is difficult to square with the fact that regulation is the product of government actors and institutions. Indeed, the rational behavior assumptions of law-and-economics suggest that those actors and institutions would tend to place their own self-interest ahead of economic efficiency. This article provides anecdotal evidence of such self-interest at work. Based on an analysis of legislative history—primarily Congressional hearings—this article argues that Congress had little interest in the economic policy …

The Irrational Auditor And Irrational Liability, Adam C. Pritchard

Articles

This Article argues that less liability for auditors in certain areas might encourage more accurate and useful financial statements, or at least equally accurate statements at a lower cost. Audit quality is promoted by three incentives: reputation, regulation, and litigation. When we take reputation and regulation into account, exposing auditors to potentially massive liability may undermine the effectiveness of reputation and regulation, thereby diminishing integrity of audited financial statements. The relation of litigation to the other incentives that promote audit quality has become more important in light of the sea change that occurred in the regulation of the auditing profession …

Cataclysmic Liability Risk Among Big Four Auditors, Eric L. Talley

Faculty Scholarship

Since Arthur Andersen's implosion in 2002, policymakers have been encouraged with ever increasing urgency to insulate the auditing industry from legal liability. Advocates of such insulation cite many arguments, but the gravamen of their case is that the profession faces such significant risk of cataclysmic liability that its long term viability is imperiled. In this Essay, I explore the nature of these claims as a legal, theoretical, and empirical matter. Legally, it is clear that authority exists (within both state and federal law) to impose liability on auditing firms for financial fraud, and courts have been doing so sporadically for …

The Next Epidemic: Bubbles And The Growth And Decay Of Securities Regulation, Erik F. Gerding

Publications

This article explores how speculative bubbles undermine the effectiveness of securities regulations and spawn epidemics of securities fraud. A brief historical survey demonstrates that stock market bubbles almost invariably coincide with epidemics of securities fraud, and provides a compelling argument that the outbreak of fraud in the Enron era did not stem merely from factors unique to the 1990s, but from the dynamics of an asset price bubble as well.

Drawing on perspectives from securities law practice and economic theory, the article argues that bubbles dilute the deterrent effect of antifraud rules and promote deregulation. Both effects alter the calculus …

After The Revolution In Corporate Law, Roberta Romano

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

The Sec At 70: Time For Retirement?, Adam C. Pritchard

Articles

The Article proceeds as follows. Part I explains the pathologies of the SEC and explores the relation between those pathologies and the SEC's status as an independent agency. Part II then outlines an alternative regulatory structure primarily situated within the executive branch. I also argue that such a relocation of authority would enhance regulatory effectiveness while simultaneously reducing the cost of excessive regulation. The Article concludes with some thoughts about the viability of my proposal.

The Sec At 70: Time For Retirement?, Adam C. Pritchard

Articles

As one grows older, birthdays gradually shift from being celebratory events to more reflective occasions. One's 40th birthday is commemorated rather differently from one's 2lst, which is, in turn, celebrated quite differently from one's first. After a certain point, the individual birthdays become less important and it is the milestone years to whch we pay particular attention. Sadly for entities like the Securities and Exchange Commission, it is only the milestone years (the ones ending in five or zero, for some reason), that draw any attention at all. No one held a conference to celebrate the SEC's 67th anniversary. Clearly …

Do Institutions Matter? The Impact Of The Lead Plaintiff Provision Of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, Adam C. Pritchard, Stephen J. Choi, Jill E. Fisch

Articles

When Congress enacted the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act in 1995 ("PSLRA"), the Act's "lead plaintiff' provision was the centerpiece of its efforts to increase investor control over securities fraud class actions. The lead plaintiff provision alters the balance of power between investors and class counsel by creating a presumption that the investor with the largest financial stake in the case will serve as lead plaintiff. The lead plaintiff then chooses class counsel and, at least in theory, negotiates the terms of counsel's compensation. Congress's stated purpose in enacting the lead plaintiff provision was to encourage institutional investors-pension funds, mutual …

Moody Investing And The Supreme Court: Rethinking The Materiality Of Information And The Reasonableness Of Investors, Peter H. Huang

Publications

This Article critically analyzes the judicial decisions and reasoning of the United States Supreme Court and lower courts accepting certain defenses in securities fraud litigation. This Article develops how and why the core notions of materiality of information and the reasonable investor should be revised in light of recent empirical data, experimental evidence, and theoretical models of moody investing. This Article proposes modifying three recent developments in materiality doctrine to take into account moody investing. In particular, this Article argues that current judicial treatment of puffery is flawed because it neglects the power of puffery to alter moods. This Article …

Should Issuers Be On The Hook For Laddering? An Empirical Analysis Of The Ipo Market Manipulation Litigation, Adam C. Pritchard, Stephen J. Choi

Articles

On December 6, 2000, the Wall Street Journal ran a front-page story exposing abuses in the market for initial public offerings (IPOs). The story revealed "tie-in" agreements between investment banks and initial investors seeking to participate in "hot" offerings. Under those agreements, initial investors would commit to buy additional shares of the offering company's stock in secondary market trading in return for allocations of shares in the IPO. As the Wall Street Journal related, those "[c]ommitments to buy in the after-market lock in demand for additional stock at levels above the IPO price. As such, they provide the rocket fuel …

Law's Signal: A Cueing Theory Of Law In Market Transition, Robert B. Ahdieh

Faculty Scholarship

Securities markets are commonly assumed to spring forth at the intersection of an adequate supply of, and a healthy demand for, investment capital. In recent years, however, seemingly failed market transitions - the failure of new markets to emerge and of existing markets to evolve - have called this assumption into question. From the developed economies of Germany and Japan to the developing countries of central and eastern Europe, securities markets have exhibited some inability to take root. The failure of U.S. securities markets, and particularly the New York Stock Exchange, to make greater use of computerized trading, communications, and …

Trust, Guilt, And Securities Regulation, Peter H. Huang

Publications

This Article analyzes the importance of trust in securities investing and how guilt about breaching such trust has implications for securities regulation. Both U.S. federal securities laws and the regulations of the National Association of Securities Dealers impose high standards of professional conduct upon securities professionals. But exactly what are and should be the legal responsibilities of securities professionals remain the subject of much debate. In particular, courts disagree over when broker-dealers are fiduciaries of their clients. A legal consequence of a fiduciary relationship is a duty of fair dealing. This Article is the first to analyze the emotional, moral, …

Behavioral Economics And The Sec, Stephen J. Choi, Adam C. Pritchard

Articles

Not all investors are rational. Quite apart from the obvious examples of credulity in the face of the latest Ponzi scheme, there is no shortage of evidence that many investors' decisions are influenced by systematic biases that impair their abilities to maximize their investment returns. For example, investors will often hold onto poorly performing stocks longer than warranted, hoping to recoup their losses. Other investors will engage in speculative trading, dissipating their returns by paying larger commissions than more passive investors. And we are not just talking about widows and orphans here. There is evidence that supposedly sophisticated institutional investors-mutual …

Petrochina Syndrome: Regulating Capital Markets In The Anti-Globalization Era, Stephen F. Diamond

Faculty Publications

To explore this new social fracture and its challenge to the legitimacy of Anglo-American capitalism, this Article presents a case study of the attempt by the Chinese government and major Wall Street investment banks to complete an initial public offering by a major Chinese corporation. Their efforts represented a classic example of the effort to build a new global capitalist order from above without significant concern for the legitimation question. And, as we shall see, the effort was met from below with a vigorous social response. Thus, I suggest that a kind of syndrome, the PetroChina Syndrome if you will, …

Closing A Bankruptcy Loop-Hole Or Impairing A Debtor's Fresh Start? Sarbanes-Oxley Creates A New Exception To Discharge, Lucian Murley

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Recent Cases, Law Review Editor

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Remedies--Fair Labor Standards Act--Private Damage Suit Unavailable to Redress Violations of Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act

Securities Regulation--Commercial Paper--Promissory Notes with Maturity Not Exceeding Nine Months but Offered to Public as Investment Are "Securities" Within Section 3(a)(10) of the 1934 Act.

Securities Regulation--Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5--A Reorganization in the Form of a Tripartite Merger in Which There Is No Change in the Total Assets Represented by a Share of Stock Does Not Involve a "Purchase or Sale" Within the Meaning of Section 10(b) of The Securities Exchange Act …

Securities Regulation: Protecting Auditor Independence From Non-Audit Services - An Evolving Standard, Mark Allan Worden

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

Passports, Private Choice, And Private Interests: Regulatory Competition And Cooperation In Corporate, Securities, And Bankruptcy Law, Frederick Tung

Faculty Scholarship

This paper discusses international regulatory competition in the related areas of corporate, securities, and bankruptcy law, contrasting two different forms that regulatory competition may take. The first is private choice, or "direct competition." In this arrangement, firms are free to elect the regulatory regime that will govern their affairs, regardless of the location of a firm's assets, personnel, registered office, or transactions. The paradigmatic example is corporate charter competition among US states. The second form of competition is the "regulatory passport" arrangement, which has also been variously described as "mutual recognition" and "reciprocity." In this scenario, nations agree to recognize …

Securities Price Risks And Financial Derivative Markets, Peter H. Huang

Publications

The financial and popular media report almost daily on the volatility of securities market prices. Yet, many people continue to buy securities to hedge against or speculate on certain risks. People can also buy or sell derivatives to hedge against or speculate on fluctuations in securities prices. This Article discusses three regulatory policy implications of utilizing derivatives markets to reallocate the bearing of securities price risks. First, if there are too few non-redundant derivative markets, a competitive market equilibrium allocation of securities price risks is typically constrained Pareto inefficient. This financial economic result means that for typical economies, a regulator …

Securities Fraud In Cyberspace: Reaching The Outer Limits Of The Federal Securities Laws, Constance Z. Wagner

All Faculty Scholarship

This article discusses the increasing use of the Internet for securities transactions, the growth of securitiesfraud perpetrated through that medium and the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) enforcement program initiated to combat it. The author critiques the position taken by the SEC that the existing anti-fraudprovisions of the federal securities laws can be stretched to cover Internet fraud. Using an enforcement action brought by the SEC against an online stock trading guru named Tokyo Joe as an example of the confused jurisprudence that results when pre-cyberspace law is applied to securities fraud in cyberspace, the author proposes a different regulatory …

The Issuer Choice Debate, Merritt B. Fox

Faculty Scholarship

This article responds to Professor Romano’s piece in this issue. It concerns our ongoing debate with regard to the desirability of permitting issuers to choose the securities regulation regime by which they are bound. Romano favors issuer choice, arguing that it would result in jurisdictional competition to offer issuers share value maximizing regulations. I, in contrast, believe that abandoning the current mandatory system of federal securities disclosure would likely lower, not increase, U.S. welfare. Each issuer, I argue, would select a regime requiring a level of disclosure less than is socially optimal because its private costs of disclosure would be …

The Legal Regulation Of Hedge Funds In The United States Long-Term Capital Management Episode, Jong Cheol Park

LLM Theses and Essays

Mutual funds and hedge funds are popular forms of investment in the United States and throughout the world. Mutual funds are regulated by securities' regulators in the United States. Hedge funds, however, are not regulated because of their operational flexibility in investment. U.S. regulators are concerned that if they regulate hedge funds, hedge funds will, along with their economic benefits, emigrate to offshore havens. However, if we consider the importance of the American financial markets in the world, this idea can be dismissed. Due to globalization in the capital markets, small events in the United States can have large effects …

Taking Stock: Securities Markets And The Division Of Powers, Robert Leckey, Eric Ward

Dalhousie Law Journal

Recent developments in Canada's securities markets highlight their national character and call for a fresh consideration of the question of federal securities regulation. Developments in the constitutional case law have changed the legal context, such that the trade and commerce and the peace, order and good government powers under the Constitution Act, 1867 would likely support federal securities legislation. The securities question, important in its own right, also serves as a case study for how the Supreme Court of Canada conducts division of powers analysis for matters that have undergone substantive change. The authors contend that competence over a provincial …

Moving Toward A Clearer Definition Of Insider Trading: Why Adoption Of The Possession Standard Protects Investors, Lacey S. Calhoun

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

In recent years, insider trading has become a publicized focus of securities law enforcement. The definition of insider trading has emerged slowly through case law, and the term has been clarified by new theories of liability. The use and possession tests are two standards of liability used to judge the treatment of inside information. The use standard offers a defense to insider trading liability while the possession standard premises liability on mere possession of inside information. This Note argues that courts should adopt the possession standard because this standard better protects investors, a primary goal of the Securities Exchange Act …

Making Disclosure: Ideas And Interests In Canadian Securities Regulation, Christopher C. Nicholis

Dalhousie Law Journal

Early in her book, Professor Condon bemoans the general lack of Canadian scholarship in the area of securities regulation. Not only is there very little theoretical work in this field, she notes, but also, "even historically descriptive accounts of the Ontario Securities Commission have been notable by their infrequency" (at 15).'

The Limited Public Offer In German And U.S. Securities Law: A Comparative Analysis Of Prospectus Act Section 2(2) And Rule 505 Of Regulation D, David B. Guenther

Michigan Journal of International Law

This Note examines the "limited circle of persons" exception in section 2(2) of the Prospectus Act in comparison to similar provisions of U.S. federal securities law, particularly Section 3(b) of the Securities Act of 1933 (the "Securities Act") and Rule 505 of Regulation D ("Rule 505"). Comparison of the Prospectus Act to U.S. securities law seems both warranted and useful. Certain aspects of German securities law are broadly modeled on U.S. precedents. U.S. securities laws reflect more than sixty-five years of experience defining (and re-defining) public and limited public offers and private placements. U.S. securities regulators have also displayed in …

Disclosure In Global Securities Offerings: Analysis Of Jurisdictional Approaches, Commonality And Reciprocity, Marc I. Steinberg, Lee E. Michaels

Michigan Journal of International Law

This article presents a summary of the regulatory systems currently in place in the world's major markets. This summary focuses primarily on the disclosure rules that must be followed by a company undertaking an equity offering in each country. Certain significant accounting standards also are discussed. After comparing the different disclosure frameworks, the article addresses efforts that have been made to regulate or standardize the world's markets on a more international level. Finally, the article discusses where we should go next in the quest to create greater harmony in a truly global marketplace.