Securities Law Commons^™

The Roberta Mitchell Lecture: Structuring Responsibility In Securitization Transactions, Steven L. Schwarcz

Faculty Scholarship

In this Lecture, Professor Schwarcz examines how complex securitization transactions may have created a “protection gap,” the conundrum that transaction parties may be unable to purchase or might not want to pay the price for full protection. As a result, they sometimes choose or are forced to assume the good faith of the other parties to the transaction and the consistency and completeness of protections provided in the transaction documents.

Cds Zombies, Anna Gelpern, Mitu Gulati

Faculty Scholarship

This paper examines the contract interpretation strategies adopted by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) for its credit derivatives contracts in the Greek sovereign debt crisis. The authors argue that the economic function of sovereign credit default swaps (CDS) after Greece is limited and uncertain, partly thanks to ISDA’s insistence on textualist interpretation. Contract theory explanations for textualist preferences emphasise either transactional efficiency or relational factors, which do not fit ISDA or the derivatives market. The authors pose an alternative explanation: the embrace of textualism in this case may be a means for ISDA to reconcile the competing political …

The Plight Of The Individual Investor In Securities Class Actions, David H. Webber

Faculty Scholarship

Individual investors victimized by securities fraud have no voice in directing class actions brought on their behalf once institutional investors obtain lead plaintiff appointments. The same holds for state-level transactional class actions claiming breaches of fiduciary duty by boards of directors in connection with mergers and acquisitions. In theory, the interests of institutional and individual investors align, nullifying the need for a separate voice for individuals; one rationale for the lead plaintiff modifications of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 was that individuals would benefit from the sophistication of institutional investor lead plaintiffs. But in practice, individual investors’ …

An Altered Derivatives Marketplace: Clearing Swaps Under Dodd-Frank, Eduard H. Cadmus

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

Though over a year has passed, the impact of the Dodd Frank Act remains unclear. This Note examines the provisions of the Act that relate to swap transactions within the context of pre-reform and postreform markets. In order to reduce the uncertainties inherent in unregulated swap transactions, the Act employs a comprehensive framework, which includes mandatory clearing through derivative clearing organizations, extensive reporting requirements, margin requirements, and position limits. This Note argues that, in doing so, the Dodd Frank Act addresses the fundamental failures of pre-reform derivative markets. However, the importance of the role for derivative clearing organizations under this …

Creatively Financed Legal Education In A Marketized Environment: How Faculty Leveraged Buyouts Can Maximize Law Schools’ Stakeholder Values, David Groshoff

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

“This [financial aid] money is not necessarily going to educate more students or to improve education. It’s a scholarship ultimately going into profits.”1

The End Of The Internal Compliance World As We Know It, Or An Enhancement Of The Effectiveness Of Securities Law Enforcement? Bounty Hunting Under The Dodd-Frank Act's Whistleblower Provision, Justin Blount, Spencer Markel

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

In the wake of Bernard Madoff’s $65 billion Ponzi scheme and the recent economic crisis stemming largely from loosely regulated subprime lending and mortgage-backed securities, President Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act on July 21, 2010, signaling loudly and clearly that change is coming to Wall Street. But Wall Street is not the only one receiving a message. Buried deep within the 2,319 pages of the Dodd-Frank Act, companies can find Section 922, the whistleblower provision, which provides a bounty for whistleblowers who report securities violations to the Securities and Exchange Commission.These bounty provisions and …

The New Section 1202 Tax-Free Business Sale: Congress Rewards Small Businesses That Survived The Great Recession, Beckett G. Cantley

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

On September 27, 2010, President Barack Obama signed the Creating Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 (“SBJA”) that contains a temporary amendment to Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) § 1202. The amendment permits original shareholders of eligible corporation stock to sell the stock without being taxed on the sale. The temporary amendment initially only applied to certain stock acquired after the enactment of the SBJA and before January 1, 2011, but the amendment was extended on December 17, 2010 for another year ending January 1, 2012. With the impending sunset of the 15% capital gains rate at the end of 2012, …

Lessons From The Flash Crash For The Regulation Of High-Frequency Traders, Edgar Ortega Barrales

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

Are equity markets vulnerable to a sudden collapse if the traders who account for about half of the volume have no regulatory obligations to stabilize prices? After the “Flash Crash” of May 6, 2010, policymakers have resoundingly answered this question in the affirmative. During the worst of the crash, some of the so-called high-frequency trading firms that dominate equity markets stopped trading and prices collapsed, momentarily wiping out almost $1 trillion in market value. In response, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is considering whether high-frequency trading firms should be required to act as the traders of last resort. This …

Burning Down The House Or Simply Rolling The Dice: A Comment On Section 621 Of The Dodd-Frank Act And Recommendation For Its Implementation, Joshua R. Rosenthal

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

Section 621 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act modifies the Securities Act of 1933 to prohibit the underwriter, placement agent, initial purchaser, or sponsor, or any affiliate or subsidiary of any such entity of an asset-backed financial product from betting against that very product for one year after the product’s initial sale. The rule prohibits anyone who structures or sells an asset-backed security or a product composed of asset-backed securities from going short, in the specified timeframe, on what they have sold, and labels such transactions as presenting material conflicts of interest. This Comment discusses traces …

Regulation A And The Jobs Act: A Failure To Resuscitate, Rutheford B. Campbell Jr.

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Regulation A offers small businesses an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933. The exemption is generally consistent with the obligation of the Securities and Exchange Commission to fashion exemptions that balance investor protection and capital formation. From the perspective of small businesses, the exemption may appear to provide an efficient access to external capital.

Regulation A, however, has fallen into nearly complete disuse. The millions of small businesses in this country, all of which at some point need external capital to survive and grow, simply do not use Regulation A.

Two reasons account for small …

Fraud Created The Market., Michael J. Kaufman

Faculty Publications & Other Works

As we have shown in a series of prior Articles, and as scholars have accepted since, class actions are vital to protecting investors. Presumptions of reliance facilitate class-wide resolution of securities fraud claims. Without class certification, individual damages may be de minimis, and thus investors would be unlikely to bring a securities fraud suit. This underenforcement allows those who defraud investors to skate liability and impugn the integrity of the marketplace. Under Rule 1Ob-5, for securities fraud the Supreme Court has presumed reliance to facilitate class actions where there is an omission in the face of a duty to disclose …

Messy Mental Markers: Inferring Scienter From Core Operations In Securities Fraud Litigation., Michael J. Kaufman

Faculty Publications & Other Works

No abstract provided.

Redoing The Statutory Scheme By Rule-Making, Charles W. Murdock

Faculty Publications & Other Works

No abstract provided.

The Judicial Access Barriers To Remedies For Securities Fraud., Michael J. Kaufman

Faculty Publications & Other Works

No abstract provided.

In Defense Of The Gses, Steven A. Ramirez

Faculty Publications & Other Works

No abstract provided.

Hybrid Entities: Distributing Profits With A Purpose, Heather Sertial

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

This Note elaborates on the introduction of a new legal structure for organizations known as the “hybrid entity.” A hybrid encompasses aspects of both the for-profit model, to generate revenue; as well as the nonprofit model, to distribute funds to a community in need. The objective of this Note is to offer a structural guide to entrepreneurs who are interested in this new model. This Note first examines the limitations of for-profits that would like to contribute to social goals, as well as the limitations of nonprofits that wish to increase their revenues. This Note then discusses two current statutory …

Informational Failures In Structured Finance And Dodd-Frank’S “Improvements To The Regulation Of Credit Rating Agencies”, Steven Mcnamara

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

This article analyzes the credit rating agency reform provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act’s “Improvements to the Regulation of Credit Rating Agencies” in light of the massive failures in the ratings of structured finance securities leading up to the 2008 credit crisis. The primary cause of ratings failure was the flawed quantitative ratings models used by the rating agencies; conflicted behavior on the part of the rating agencies was also an important but secondary cause. The key mechanical flaw in the ratings models was the method used to determine correlation, a measure of the likelihood that one borrower would default in …

Taming The Hydra Of Derivatives Regulation: Examining New Regulatory Approaches To Otc Derivatives In The United States And Europe, Daria S. Latysheva

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The note examines the regulatory responses to the 2008 financial crisis, focusing on derivatives markets in the US and EU. It argues that while both the Dodd-Frank Act and the EU Proposal aim to enhance oversight and transparency, the EU's structured and centralized approach is more effective in achieving comprehensive regulation. The US framework, relying heavily on agency rulemaking and fragmented jurisdiction between the CFTC and SEC, risks inefficiencies and regulatory gaps, whereas the EU Proposal’s detailed provisions and centralized decision-making provide a more cohesive framework for reducing systemic risk.

Shareholder Litigation After The Meltdown, Daniel J. Morrissey

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Bright-Line Rules And Inefficient Markets: The Third Circuit's 10b-5 Materiality Doctrine Is Ripe For Revision, Brian J. Boyle

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.