September 2018

I’ve concluded that there are three basic blog layout types. This, after twelve years and several thousand blogs designed. Fixed width, Full width, and a Hybrid layout that combines elements from the first two. Each layout type has its advantages.

I may update this list from time to time; feel free to e-mail me with additions. Looks like a pretty strong hiring season for business law. Updated 12/04/18.

Law School Professor Positions – Business Specialty Sought

  1. Barry University 
  2. Belmont University
  3. Campbell University
  4. Cardozo
  5. Case Western University
  6. Duke University
  7. Drake University (Director of the Entrepreneurial/Transactional Law Clinic)
  8. Drake University (Assistant, Associate, or Professor of Law)
  9. Drexel University
  10. Emory University
  11. Florida A&M University 
  12. Louisiana State University
  13. Mercer University 
  14. Pennsylvania State University, University Park
  15. Saint John’s University
  16. Seton Hall University
  17. Southern Illinois University Carbondale (Professor of Practice) (9/17/18 deadline or until filled)
  18. University of Alabama
  19. University of Arizona (International Business Law Focus) (Review begins 9/28/18)
  20. University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
  21. University of Buffalo
  22. University of California, Berkeley (initial review 8/15/18; accepted through 3/1/19)
  23. University of California, Davis
  24. University of California, Irvine
  25. University of Connecticut
  26. University of Kentucky
  27. University of Louisville
  28. University of Miami
  29. University of Nebraska
  30. University of New Mexico (Oil & Gas Focus)
  31. University of North Texas at Dallas
  32. University of Oregon (Business Law Clinic)
  33. University of Pittsburgh
  34. University of Richmond
  35. University of Saint Thomas (Miami)
  36. University of South Carolina
  37. University of Wyoming 
  38. Washington & Lee University
  39. Washington University (St.

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Last week, I made the argument that Nike’s Kaepernick Ad Is the Most Business Judgmenty Thing Ever.  I still think so.  

To build on that post (in part based on good comments I received on that post), I think it is worth exploring that ability and appropriateness of boards delegating certain duties, as this impacts any assessment of the business judgment rule. 

As co-blogger Stefan Padfield correctly noted, directors “become informed of all material information reasonably available.” However, does that apply to a particular ad campaign? Hiring of all spokespeople? Only certain ones? How about a particular ad?  Or is it the hiring of a marketing and ad team (internally or externally)? 

Nike has a long list of sponsorship (here) for teams and individuals. I sincerely doubt that all of those were run by the board of directors, though it is possible.  The board may also weigh in from time to time, based on the behavior of the people they sponsor.  Nike famously terminated contracts with Oscar Pistorius and Ray Rice in September 2014. Are these all board decisions? Maybe. Or maybe they have a protocol for dealing with such issues. Regardless, how they deal with this…

I am still basking in the warm glow of having hosted a number of my fellow Business Law Prof Blog editors in Knoxville last week for our second annual “Connecting the Threads” event.  What a great day we had on Friday.  I could listen to these folks talk about business law until the cows come home (so to speak–no actual cows here!).

As BLPB readers may recall, the title of my paper for the 2018 “Connecting the Threads II” symposium is Lawyering for Social Enterprise.  I am sure that I will blog more on that topic in this space later–when my paper from the symposium has been published–but I want to offer here the three paragraphs of conclusion to the handout I prepared for the continuing legal education materials for the program, which focus on the need of judgment, discretion, and even wisdom.

Advising entrepreneurs, founders, promoters, and directors of social enterprises can be both satisfying and frustrating. The satisfaction most often comes from helping these businesses achieve financial success while also serving the public good. The frustration comes from the difficulty of the task in providing the necessary counsel—both in selecting the optimal legal form for the…

Law blogs published by practicing lawyers, particularly blogs published on niches, improve people’s access to legal services.

“People” refers to any and all of us—consumers, small business people, executive directors, corporate executives and in-house counsel.

I knew it would be impossible. There was no way to relay my excitement about the potential of blockchain technology in a concise way to lawyers and law students last Friday at the Connecting the Threads symposium at the University of Tennessee School of Law. I didn’t discuss cryptocurrency or Bitcoin other than to say that I wasn’t planning to discuss it. Still, there wasn’t nearly enough time for me to discuss all of the potential use cases. I did try to make it clear that it’s not a fad if IBM has 1500 people working on it, BITA has hundreds of logistics and freight companies signed up to explore possibilities, and the World Bank, OECD, and United Nations have studies and pilot programs devoted to it. As a former supply chain person, compliance officer, and chief privacy officer, I’m giddy with excitement about everything related to distributed ledger technology other than cryptocurrency. You can see why when you read my law review article in a few months in Transactions.

I’ve watched over 100 YouTube videos (many of them crappy) and read dozens of articles. I go to Meetups and actually understand what the coders and developers…

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