Legal Profession Commons^™

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

How Design Thinking Can Help Lawyers Find Purpose In Work, Bridgette Carr, Vivek Sankaran

Other Publications

In the wake of significant government layoffs, increasing political instability and a justice system stretched to its limits, lawyers across the country are overwhelmed. Some were abruptly dismissed from their federal positions and are scrambling to find meaningful work. Others in legal aid and nonprofits are drowning under a surge of urgent cases, from housing crises to immigration battles. Even those in the private sector are grappling with how they can contribute to addressing the relentless wave of injustices unfolding around them. Lawyers everywhere are struggling. Those in the trenches are overwhelmed. Many of us feel helpless. And all too …

Precedential Trauma: Integrating Trauma-Informed Judging In Federal Courts Of Appeals Through Opinion Writing, Alison Brochu

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Judge William E. Smith: Portrait Of A Jurist And Leader, Gregory W. Bowman

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Changemakers: Steven Colantuono: Juris Doctorate: Embracing The Road To Success, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

What Lawyers Could Learn From The Corporate Practice Of Medicine, Melissa D. Mortazavi

Faculty Articles

Proponents of the United States’ domestic experiments in non-lawyer ownership (NLO) of legal practice justify them in terms of increasing “access to justice.” But what if opening ownership of legal practice to investment capital only exacerbates market failures (leading to further consolidation and increased costs to clients), while also compromising professional autonomy and fiduciary duty? The legal profession must be clear-eyed about who are the real winners and losers of such a shift and avoid being blinded by wishful thinking. Prominent legal scholars have repeatedly touted NLO as a solution to the access to justice crisis. However, there is scant …

Promise And Pitfalls Of Ai In Mass Arbitration, Amy J. Schmitz

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

Mass arbitration has emerged as a strategic response to arbitration clauses that preclude class actions, allowing large numbers of claimants to bring individual arbitration demands against companies for similar grievances. Unlike class actions where a lead claimant represents others, mass arbitration requires each claimant’s active participation in separate proceedings, creating significant administrative burdens and costs. Following a 2011 Supreme Court ruling that solidified mandatory individual arbitration clauses, consumers and employees increasingly turned to mass arbitration filings. While the American Arbitration Association’s rule updates aimed to improve efficiency through measures like one-time initiation fees and process arbitrators, challenges remain in managing …

The Perverse Effects Of Mandatory Judicial Reporting To Bar Authorities Of Ineffective Assistance Of Counsel Determinations, Tigran W. Eldred, David M. Siegel

Faculty Scholarship

California Business & Professions Code § 6086.7(a)(2) provides that a court shall notify the State Bar “[w]henever a modification or reversal of a judgment in a judicial proceeding is based in whole or in part on the misconduct, incompetent representation, or willful misrepresentation of an attorney.” Some California judges now interpret this provision as mandating referral to the State Bar in any case in which a new trial or withdrawal of a plea is granted due to ineffective assistance of counsel. This interpretation directly conflicts with an attorney’s continuing duty to her former client. It is unnecessary and has profoundly …

Scientific Educations Among U.S. Judges, Christa J. Laser

American University Law Review

Should more judges have technical and scientific educations than are currently prevalent in the federal judiciary? This empirical study of the educational background of federal judges reports the undergraduate and graduate majors of active U.S. federal Article III judges. Information on the subject area of study is largely not publicly available, especially for judges appointed decades ago. This is the first and only publicly available research study of the subject areas of study of U.S. judges, collected via phone and email surveys to U.S. judges. The results of this study show that only 7.35% of federal judges have majors in …

The Motherhood Myth, Traditional Firms, And The Underrepresentation Of Women, Paula Schaefer

FIU Law Review

This Article explains that the motherhood narrative—that women are underrepresented in partnership and leadership ranks of law firms because they are their children’s primary caregivers—is a myth. After detailing how the motherhood myth has been used as an excuse for poor retention of women, the Article provides evidence of an alternative explanation: traditional firms—characterized by extreme work expectations and reliance on the unpaid labor of attorneys’ stay-at-home spouses or partners (SAHSs)—are structurally and culturally hostile to women. To thrive in a traditional firm, an attorney needs a SAHS—not just an equal parenting partner as the motherhood myth claims. Traditional firms’ …

Book Review: Biglaw's Race Problem, Angela Onwuachi-Willig, Anthony V. Alfieri

Faculty Scholarship

Ever since the 1970s when BigLaw firms began to hire Black lawyers into their associate ranks, these firms have wrestled with problems in both recruiting and retaining Black associates. During the ensuing decades, BigLaw firms have minimally increased the low numbers of Black attorneys who have become partners, particularly equity partners, within their organizations. Numerous scholars have explored how racial bias and discrimination, both within BigLaw firms and greater society, have contributed to such failures in the recruitment, retention, and promotion of Black lawyers. In his new book The Black Ceiling: How Race Still Matters in the Elite Workplace, …

Panel Discussion: Mindfulness In The Law School Environment, Erika George, Nicky Boothe, Kellyn O. Mcgee

Faculty Scholarship

A 2016 study of 13,000 lawyers conducted by American Bar Association Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs and the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation found that approximately 28 percent struggle with depression, 19 percent anxiety and 23 percent stress.¹² The study found “younger lawyers in the first ten years of practice and those working in private firms experience the highest rates of problem drinking and depression.”¹³ At least one study suggests that 40-70 percent of disciplinary proceedings and malpractice claims against lawyers involve substance abuse or depression.

According to a 2016 Survey of Law Student Well-Being including over 3,300 law …

Legislative Speech & Decorum, Sean J. Kealy

Faculty Scholarship

Decorum requires legislators to self-limit their free speech rights as citizens; things that may be said and done in the public square would violate legislative decorum rules. In 2023, two legislatures made headlines by using decorum rules to silence young legislators with minority views. In Tennessee, the House expelled two representatives after they walked into the House well and led protestors in the galleries in several chants demanding the House take up gun control legislation. In Montana, the House excluded a representative from the House Floor after she spoke against a bill to forbid minors access to gender affirming care. …

Current Higher Education Legal Issues And The Roles Of Legal Leadership On Campus, Louis H. Guard, Joyce P. Jacobsen, Patricia E. Salkin

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

The Jury Does Not Always Need Help From Lay Opinion Witnesses, Taurus Myhand

Scholarly Works

Who is the “reasonable person”? There is little doubt that every competent legal professional, both in law practice and in the academic setting, has spent a great deal of time attempting to define the reasonable person. “Reasonableness is largely a matter of common sense.” In police encounters, the definition is certainly important to the outcome of questionable police conduct. How the reasonable person is defined often determines whether a police officer has infringed on an individual’s Fourth Amendment guarantee to be secure in their person against unreasonable searches and seizures. As the narratives of the news media shape how some …

The Prosecutor Vacancy Crisis, Adam M. Gershowitz

BYU Law Review

There is a prosecutor vacancy crisis in the United States. Prosecutors are quitting in droves and there are few applicants to replace them. In Houston and Los Angeles, more than 15% of prosecutor positions are open. In Detroit, the vacancy rate exceeds 20%. In Alameda, 25% of prosecutor positions are empty. And in Miami, a staggering 33% of prosecutor positions are unfilled. The situation is equally dire in many large and small counties across the nation.

Drawing on data and interviews from more than two-dozen district attorney’s offices, this Article documents how low salaries, massive caseloads, lack of remote work …

Kedudukan Surat Keterangan Riwayat Tanah (Skt) Sebagai Alas Hak Kepemilikan Dan Penguasaan Tanah Yang Dikeluarkan Pada Saat Status Sengketa (Studi Putusan Mahkamahagung Nomor 1606 K/Pdt/2022), Helena Albright T Sitompul

Indonesian Notary

Artikel ini membahas mengenai kedudukan Surat Keterangan Riwayat Tanah (SKT) yang dijadikan sebagai bukti kepemilikan dan bukti hak dalam melakukan penguasaan atas tanah yang menjadi objek sengketa dalam Putusan Mahkamah Agung Nomor 1606/K/Pdt/2022. Pokok permasalahan dalam artikel ini adalah perihal SKT yang menjadi alas hak dalam menguasai tanah, ternyata dikeluarkan pada saat telah terjadi sengketa diatasnya. Penulisan artikel ini dilakukan denganmetode penelitian hukum doktrinal dengan tipologi penelitian preskriptif analisis, jenis data berupa data sekunder, dengan alat pengumpulan studi dokumen, serta analisis dilakukan secara kualitatif. Hasil peneliDan menunjukkan, bahwa SKT bukanlah bukti kepemilikan atas tanah, dan apabila merujuk pada Pasal 97 …