August 2015

Andrew Vollmer, a law professor at the University of Virginia and a former SEC deputy general counsel, has written two excellent papers on SEC enforcement.

The first, SEC Revanchism and the Expansion of Primary Liability under Section 17(a) and Rule 10b-5, is a critical look at the SEC’s decision in the Flannery administrative proceeding. If you’re a securities lawyer and you’re not familiar with Flannery, you should be. It stakes out a number of broad interpretations of liability under Rule 10b-5 and section 17(a) of the Securities Act. I (and Professor Vollmer) believe some of those positions are inconsistent with Supreme Court precedent, but the SEC’s is clearly trying to set up an argument for judicial deference under Chevron.

Professor Vollmer’s second article is Four Ways to Improve SEC Enforcement. He discusses the problems with SEC administrative proceedings and how to fix them.

Both articles are definitely worth reading.

Apparently, Paul Hastings is planning to bring lawyer cubicles to New York.  First and second year associates won’t get an office; instead, they’ll get a cubicle.  The firm pitches this as a move to enhance creativity; conveniently, it also saves expenses on office space.

Whenever I hear about moves like this – which include offices with glass walls, or offices shares by multiple people – I always wonder: But how will they sleep?

Leaving aside the sleep research demonstrating the cognitive benefits of naps, I know from personal experience that I cannot get through a full working day – let alone the kind of long day that lawyers often must work – without one or two 20-minute naps.  I’ve talked to other lawyers and I’ve heard the same thing; they loathe glass walls and other open-office plans not simply for the lack of privacy, but because they need space to sleep.

Google is famous for, among other things, counterbalancing shared offices and glass walls with sleeping pods – which likely benefits employee productivity (and also, presumably,  is part of a strategy to keep employees from ever leaving the complex).  I suppose Paul Hastings could try something similar, but I’m…

I don’t agree with SEC Commissioner Luis Aguilar on many issues. But I agree with his recent call for transparency in the disqualification waiver process.

A number of SEC rules, such as some of the offering registration exemptions, are not available to companies that have engaged in certain misbehavior in the past. But the SEC has the authority to waive those disqualifications, and it often does. Or, I should say, the SEC staff often does. As Commissioner Aguilar points out, the commissioners are often unaware that a waiver has been requested. And, as with staff no-action letters, it’s often unclear why some waivers are granted and others are not.

I’m not a fan of the whole idea of discretionary waivers. Allowing government employees to waive the law on a case-by-case basis with little explanation strikes me as inconsistent with the rule of law. But, if we’re going to have them, the process should be as transparent as possible.

I’m the socially-conscious consumer that regulators and NGOs think about when they write disclosure legislation like the Dodd-Frank conflict minerals law that I discussed last week. I drive a hybrid, spend too much money at Whole Foods for sustainable, locally-farmed, ethically-sourced goods, make my own soda at home so I minimize impacts to the environment with cans and plastic bottles, and love to use the canvas bags I get at conferences when I shop at the grocery store. As I (tongue in cheek) pat myself on the back for all the good I hope to do in the world, I realize that I may be a huge hypocrite. I know from my research that consumers generally tell survey takers that they want ethically sourced goods, but they in fact buy on quality, price, and convenience.

I thought about that research when I read the New York Times expose and CEO Jeff Bezos’ response about Amazon’s work environment. As a former defense-side employment lawyer and BigLaw associate for many years, I wasn’t in any way surprised by the allegations (and I have no reason to believe they are either true or false). I have both provided legal defenses and lived…

Back in January, I joined Planet Fitness. The $10/month membership seemed too good to be true. Most gyms I had joined in the past had cost 3-5X that amount, and the equipment looked pretty similar. Also, the advertisement of No Commitment* Join Now & Save! (small font – *Commitments may vary per location) gave me pause.

Like a good lawyer, I read all the fine print in the membership contract, looking for a catch. There wasn’t really a catch – except for a small, one-time annual fee (~$30), if I did not cancel before October.

I signed up, enjoyed the gym, and canceled a few months later, as soon as the weather outside improved. (When I exercise, which is not as consistently as some of my co-bloggers, it is mostly just running, and I prefer to run outside if the weather is decent).

So, in total, I paid around $30 for three months of access to a single location of a decent gym.

This deal is still somewhat puzzling to me. If Planet Fitness’ business model makes sense, why aren’t more competitors coming close to the $10/month price point?

Here are some of my guesses (based on my brief experience…

As mentioned in my post about law schools hiring in business law areas, we received the following posting from The University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law.

——

University of Utah Hiring in Business and Tax Law

The University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position at the rank of associate professor beginning academic year 2016-2017. Qualifications for the position include a record of excellence in academics, successful teaching experience or potential as a teacher, and strong scholarly distinction or promise. The College is particularly interested in candidates in the areas of business and tax law. Interested persons can submit an application to the University of Utah Human Resources website at https://utah.peopleadmin.com/postings/43173 (please note that the application requires a cover letter, CV, and list of references). Baiba Hicks, Administrative Assistant to the Faculty Appointments Committee (Baiba.hicks@law.utah.edu or 801-581-5464) is available to answer questions.

The University of Utah is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer and educator and its policies prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, religion, age, status as a person with a disability, or veteran’s status. Minorities, women, veterans, and those…

Yesterday, my husband and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary.  I am married to the best husband and dad in the entire world.  (Sorry to slight all of my many male family members and friends who are spouses or fathers, but I am knowingly and seriously playing favorites here!)  My husband and I bought the anniversary memento pictured below a few years ago, and it just seems to be getting closer and closer to the reality of us as a couple (somewhat endearing, but aging) as time passes . . . .

IMG_0872

Of course, our wedding was not the only important event in 1985.  There’s so much more to celebrate about that year!  In fact, it was a banner year in business law.  Here are a few of the significant happenings, in no particular order.  Most relate to M&A doctrine and practice.  I am not sure whether the list is slanted that way because I (a dyed-in-the-wool M&A/Securities lawyer) created it or whether the M&A heyday of the 1980s just spawned a lot of key activity in 1985.

  1. Smith v. Van Gorkom was decided.  It was my 3L year at NYU Law.  I remember the opinion being faxed to my

…

I know I am Johnny One Note on this, but while researching another project, I decided to check again if litigators (and courts) are still referring to veil piercing of LLCs as “corporate veil piercing.” As I have noted before, for LLCs, it should be “piercing the LLC veil” or, more generally, “piercing the limited liability veil.”  Or “PLLV,” as I like to call it. (Not as catchy is “PCV,” but it is far more universally accurate.)

Sure enough, last week, a New York court refused to denied the defendants’ motion to dismiss the plaintiff’s third amended complaint, deciding that “Plaintiff has adequately pled facts sufficient to defeat the Individual Defendant’s motion to dismiss Plaintiff’s claim for piercing the corporate veil.” Capital Inv. Funding, LLC v. Lancaster Grp. LLC, No. CIV.A. 8-4714 JLL, 2015 WL 4915464, at *7 (D.N.J. Aug. 18, 2015).  But Plaintiff is seeking to piercing the veil of an LLC.  As such, I think they need a fourth amended complaint.  

Also last week, in an unpublished opinion, a Minnesota court upheld a decision to pierce the limited liability veil of Alpha Law Firm, LLC.  The court found the court below “did not abuse its discretion…

Belmont University’s Massey College of Business (my employer) has an open Assistant Professor of Management position that may interest some of our readers.

As stated below, a PHD in Management and/or a JD is required. Healthcare management expertise is strongly preferred. The recently retired professor whose line we are filling was a JD, MBA, RN with significant healthcare management and health law experience. I am not on the hiring committee, but am happy to discuss Belmont University in general, and I can point interested parties in the right direction.

The online application can be accessed here.

—

The College of Business Administration at Belmont University is seeking applications for a tenure-track faculty position at the rank of Assistant Professor beginning August 2015.

The faculty member in this position will teach both graduate and undergraduate management classes. The area of specialization/certification that will be given preference for this position is healthcare management. Ability and willingness to teach healthcare law, patient-centered care, business law, principles of management, and/or strategic management is preferred. Clinical experience or familiarity with the clinical setting will be looked upon quite favorably, as well.  Candidates should be able to demonstrate a well-developed research agenda with promise of…