Sky Blog
After every crisis, academics, policymakers and other observers reflect on what went wrong and what could have been done differently. This in turn leads to some reforms to laws and regulations. In the wake of widespread, multi-country corporate governance failures …
“Culture, more than rule books, determines how an organization behaves.” – Warren Buffet[1]
In recent years, there have been ongoing occurrences of serious professional misbehavior, ethical lapses and compliance failures at financial institutions. It was the crisis that exposed …
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is now accepting Form C filings from private companies seeking to sell securities through registered crowdfunding portals. We have been following the nascent crowdfunding space closely and will continue to monitor the adoption of …
As we have previously observed, private fund advisers face a difficult challenge when SEC guidance (in the form of a speech or a public enforcement order) indicates that certain long-standing practices may be contrary to the securities laws. What does …
On July 13, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) adopted important amendments updating its rules of practice governing its administrative proceedings.[1] These changes concern, among other things, the timing of hearings in administrative proceedings, depositions, summary disposition, the …
Last week, news emerged that China had hacked the FDIC on several occasions during the past few years. This revelation renews concerns about the security of America’s financial institutions and comes on the heels of the third bank hacking through …
The Brent and WTI prices of crude oil fell by 60% between June 2014 and January 2015, marking one of the fastest and largest declines in oil history. Several potential factors (related to oil supply and demand) which could have …
In my article The Arbitration Bootstrap,[1] I explain how courts are misinterpreting the Federal Arbitration Act of 1925 (the FAA) in ways that allow firms to use arbitration clauses to render unenforceable contract terms enforceable. Arbitration clauses require …
Following the 2008 financial crisis, more and more countries have begun to embrace whistleblower protections as a tool to change corporate cultures. Such provisions may give whistleblowers the protections they need to raise their voices, and draw attention to undesired …
On May 5, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) proposed a rule that would govern two aspects of consumer finance dispute resolution. First, the new regulations would prohibit providers of certain consumer financial products and services from including in …
On May 23, 2016, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed a $1.3 billion civil penalty imposed against Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., Bank of America, N.A., and related defendants (collectively, “Countrywide”) under the Financial Institutions Reform, …
“And we played the Hustle music. There were, you know, printed materials passed out,” with dance steps so “ideally we could all perform the Hustle in precision,” recalled the former Countrywide first vice president. “There was a lot of excitement. …
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released recommendations in March for how banks and credit unions can better protect elderly customers from financial exploitation. The CFPB issued its recommendations as the elderly population continues to rapidly grow, positioning banks and …
EU financial policymakers appear to be once more in a deadlock situation over proposals to limit the sovereign risk exposure of European banks. The strong exposure of some banks in the southern European periphery in their national sovereign’s debt was …
| Rank | Name | School | Citations | Age in 2016 |
| 1 | John Coffee, Jr. | Columbia University | 1470 | 72 |
| 2 | Lucian Bebchuk | Harvard University | 1130 | 61 |
| 3 | Stephen Bainbridge | University of California, Los Angeles | 1010 | 58 |
| 4 | Reinier Kraakman | Harvard University | 820 | 67 |
| 5 |
Since the Volkswagen story first broke in September 2015, most observers have just scratched their heads and muttered to themselves in amazement: “What were they thinking? How could you place ‘defeat devices’ in 11 million cars worldwide and expect that …
On April 21, 2016, the National Credit Union Administration (the NCUA) issued a proposed rule regarding incentive-based compensation paid by certain financial institutions (the Proposed Rule) to implement Section 956 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act …
One down, three to go: SEC rulemaking is heating up.
Last month, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) finalized business conduct standards for security-based swap dealers (SBSDs).[1] The completion of this rule by the SEC is significant because few …
On Monday, LendingClub Corp., a leader in the growing online lending space, announced the surprise resignation of its founder and CEO, Renaud Laplanche. Laplanche resigned in response to a board investigation that revealed a number of internal control failures, including …
The work of Columbia Law School Professor Kate Judge appears in the list of twelve best corporate and securities law articles in 2015, based on a poll conducted by the Corporate Practice Commentator. Teachers in corporate and securities law were …