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Colleen Baker

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PhD (Wharton) Professor Baker is an expert in banking and financial institutions law and regulation, with extensive knowledge of over-the-counter derivatives, clearing, the Dodd-Frank Act, and bankruptcy, in addition to being a mediator and arbitrator.

Previously, she spent time at the U. of Illinois Urbana-Champaign College of Business, the U. of Notre Dame Law School, and Villanova University Law School. She has consulted for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, and for The Volcker Alliance.  Prior to academia, Professor Baker worked as a legal professional and as an information technology associate. She is a member of the State Bars of NY and TX. Read More

Dear BLPB Readers:

“The Business Law and Ethics department at the Kelley School of Business, Indiana University-Bloomington, seeks applications for tenured/tenure-track positions effective Fall 2027. The candidate(s) selected will join a well-established department of 29 full-time faculty members who research and teach a variety of business law topics at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Departmental faculty regularly publish in top law and business journals and are known for teaching excellence. The breadth of the department’s current research and teaching interests span corporate compliance, employment, health, intellectual property, securities, sports, and technology law, white collar crime, critical thinking, and business ethics.
We welcome candidates with broad research and teaching interests in business law and ethics. Specifically, we are looking to hire faculty member (s) in the general area of business law and ethics (broadly defined), and faculty member(s) specializing in corporate finance, tax, and/or mergers and acquisitions.”

The complete job posting is here.

Dear BLPB Readers:

“Call for Papers: Ninth Annual Wharton FinReg Conference – 4/10, submission deadline 2/10.

We are pleased to announce that the annual Wharton Financial Regulation Conference will take place on Friday, April 10, 2026.

Convening as the Trump administration wraps up its first year and as we head into the midterm election season, the conference offers a timely opportunity for scholars and policymakers to asses recent developments in financial regulation and peer over the horizon.

We invite submissions from scholars across all disciplines—law, economics, political science, history, business, and beyond—on any topic related to financial regulation, broadly construed.

There is conference funding to support the reasonable travel expenses of paper authors selected to present. There is also some funding available for additional participants, with priority given to new and emerging scholars.”

The complete call for papers is here: 2026 Wharton Fin Reg Conference – CFP

Dear BLPB Readers:

Below is information regarding the 2026 Midwest Academy of Legal Studies in Business (MALSB) Conference Call for Participation:

“MALSB invites you to join us for the annual conference in Chicago on March 25-27, 2026, and to share your scholarship, including: papers, abstracts, panel presentations, or other substantive presentations. Submissions to the MALSB/Legal Studies track must relate to business law, the legal environment of business or ethics, or the teaching of one of these topics. Program sessions provide an opportunity to present papers and learn from the scholarship of others in a collegial environment. The submission deadline is January 20, 2026.

MALSB encourages submission for its Master Teacher Competition, its Proceedings Awards, and its newly created Student Paper Competition. Submissions for these awards must comply with the requirements outlined below and final papers must be received by the submission deadline. Submissions will be evaluated for Awards and MALSB Proceedings, based upon a peer review process.

Abstracts, substantive presentations, and works in progress may be submitted. While a proposal may be accepted for presentation based upon an abstract or similar, all presenters must prepare and submit substantive materials by March 1, 2026. These substantive materials are required to support…

Dear BLPB Readers:

“Mississippi College School of Law invites applications from entry-level or lateral candidates for an endowed professorship position expected to begin July 2026 (but an earlier start date may be possible if desired by the candidate). Our search will focus primarily on candidates with an interest in teaching two or more of the following subject areas: AI, Machine Learning & the Law; Cybersecurity and Data Privacy; Introduction to Intellectual Property; Trademark and Property Law; Patent Law; Civil Procedure, and Torts. We seek candidates with a distinguished academic background with some emphasis in the AI, Machine Learning, and Cybersecurity fields (having earned a J.D. and/or Ph.D.), a commitment to excellence in teaching, and a demonstrated commitment to scholarly research and publication.

In addition to receiving an endowed tenured or tenure-track professorship, this hire will be named the Director of MC Law’s new Center for AI Policy and Technology Leadership (CAPTL). The position will come with a highly competitive compensation package, including a significant travel and research stipend.”

The complete announcement is here:CAPTL Hiring Announcement

Dear BLPB Readers:

“Call for Papers: Wharton Financial Regulation Conference – 4/25, submission deadline 2/10.

We are pleased to announce that the annual Wharton Financial Regulation Conference will take place on Friday, April 25, 2025.

Convening as the Trump administration wraps up its first 100 days, the conference offers a timely opportunity for scholars and policymakers to assess recent developments in financial regulation and peer over the horizon.

We invite submissions from scholars across all disciplines—law, economics, political science, history, business, and beyond—on any topic related to financial regulation, broadly construed.”

The complete call for papers is here:2025 Wharton Fin Reg Conference – CFP

A front page story in today’s WSJ is entitled “Pension Funds Want Private Equity to Open Up About Fees and Returns.” The article notes that “An increasing number of [fund] managers borrow cash using so-called subscription lines and net-asset-value loans to lift short-term performance and the fees they charge.” Curious about net asset value (NAV) financing and private equity? Check out my article, Net Asset Value Financing and Private Equity in the U. Pa. L. Rev. Online.  

Increasingly, it seems like not a day goes by without my reading some story in the financial press about the growth of and developments in private capital markets. For example, earlier this week, the WSJ ran a story about Goldman Sachs’ plans for a new “Capital Solutions Group,” an institutional development seemingly related to the surge of private credit markets. And the private company market is also hot! So, Professor Christina Sautter and I wrote a short paper called “Democratization of the Private Markets?” for Transactions: The Tennessee Journal of Business Law. In this paper, we explore the market for private company equity with a particular focus on closed-end funds (CEFs) like ARK Venture Fund and Destiny Tech100. It’s a piece related to Transactions’ yearly Connecting the Threads Symposium, which is always a fabulous event and one of my favorite conferences of the year!

Dear Readers:

“The Department of Insurance, Legal Studies and Real Estate in the Terry College of Business at The University of Georgia invites applications for a full-time non-tenure-track faculty position in Legal Studies at the lecturer level, beginning in fall semester 2025, with an employment start date of August 1, 2025.

Candidates must hold a juris doctorate or equivalent degree. Strong communication skills and demonstrated potential for excellent teaching are required. The position is renewable based on performance and promotion to Senior Lecturer is possible after six years of service. For information regarding the requirements for each faculty rank, please see the University of Georgia Guidelines for Appointment and Promotion of Lecturers (https://provost.uga.edu/policies/appointment-promotion-andtenure/guidelines-for-appointment-and-promotion-of-lecturers/).

Participation in service activities appropriate to the rank is expected. Salary is competitive and commensurate with qualifications.”

The complete announcement regarding this position is here: UGA Legal Studies Lecturer – Start Fall 2025

Dear Readers:

“The Midwest Academy of Legal Studies in Business (MALSB) Annual Conference is held in
conjunction with the MBAA International Conference. MBAA International draws hundreds of academics from business-related fields such as accounting, business/society/government, economics, entrepreneurship, finance, health administration, information systems, international business, management, and marketing. The MALSB has its own program track on Legal Studies and attendees may take advantage of the multidisciplinary nature of this international conference and attend sessions held by the other program tracks.

Presentations in 2025 will have the option of in person or live online delivery. Tentatively MALSB paper and panel in person/live online presentations are scheduled to begin Thursday morning (April 10, 2025) and conclude Friday afternoon (April 11, 2025). If registration numbers require additional sessions, they will be held Wednesday afternoon (April 9, 2025).”

Note that the registration/submission deadline is January 26, 2025.  The complete call for conference participation is here.”

Dear BLPB Readers:

“The American Business Law Journal (ABLJ) is seeking manuscripts for a special issue on “Rescuing Organizations in Financial Distress.”

Organizations around the globe, both private businesses and public entities, are currently experiencing extraordinary financial pressure and distress. A panoply of internal and external causal factors are contributing to the financial distress. While some organizations can overcome their financial predicament through continued operations, others require legal mechanisms to facilitate a path to rescue. The failure of a private business or the collapse of a public organization has a cascading impact on a host of stakeholders and interests, leading to significant detrimental outcomes well beyond the organization in financial distress. The special issue explores what businesses, regulators, lawmakers, and attorneys should do to provide effective rescue regimes and tools for organizations in financial distress.”

The deadline for submissions is February 3, 2025.  The complete call for papers is here:  Download Updated ABLJ 2025 Special Issue Call for Papers – Sept 2024.