Photo of Colleen Baker

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:

University of Georgia, Terry College of Business Lecturer of Legal Studies

Department of ILSRE

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 Fall 2023.

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-and- tenure/guidelines-for-appointment-and-promotion-of-lecturers/).

Dear BLPB Readers:

“The Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan has a tenure-track position available in Real Estate starting in September 2023. Depending on interest and qualifications, the successful candidate will join the Finance, Business Economics, or Business Law area.  Teaching at the graduate and/or undergraduate level. Research and publishing, supervising doctoral research, and service contribution is required.  This position is open-rank.”

The complete job posting is here.

Dear BLPB Readers:

The Risk Management Department in the Smeal College of Business is seeking to fill a tenure-track (open rank) appointment in Business Law effective Fall 2023. Qualified applicants with an expertise in any area of law will be considered, but the department has a particular interest in candidates with a background in UCC and commercial transactions law, securities law and financial regulation, or legal aspects of risk management. This position will have teaching responsibilities at the undergraduate level.Please review the full posting and application link at: https://psu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/PSU_Academic/job/University-Park-Campus/Tenure-Track-Business-Law-Professor–Open-Rank-_REQ_0000035410-2Consideration of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position has been filled. If you have questions about the position or process, please email RM@smeal.psu.edu

Dear BLPB Readers:

Bentley University’s Law and Taxation Department is accepting applications for two full-time faculty positions: a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Law and a Law Lecturer, both to begin July, 2023. Application review will begin in mid-October, with preliminary interviews targeted for late October and early November. Here are the relevant links to Bentley’s hiring webpage: Bentley University tenure-track Assistant Professor of Law and Bentley University Law Lecturer The links describe the positions and required qualifications, give more information about Bentley University and the Law and Taxation Department, and contain all information necessary for submitting an application. Nonetheless, any questions about the positions or application process may be sent to Marianne Kulow, Chair of the Hiring Committee, at mdelpokulow@bentley.edu

Today, I enjoyed reading Professor Christina Parajon Skinner’s timely and important new article, The Monetary Executive, forthcoming in the George Washington Law Review.  It’s definitely a worthwhile read!  Here’s the abstract:

As inflation in 2022 surges to a forty-year high, economists, lawmakers, and the public continue to question why. As part of that inquiry, experts and onlookers seek explanations grounded in errors recently made by the central bank, the U.S. Federal Reserve. This Article argues that, while there is no doubt a host of contributing factors to the current bout of inflation, the President’s role remains comparatively understudied. In particular, the Article adds a new dimension to the growing literature on the fiscal foundations of inflation by studying its longstanding statutory roots, which can be traced back to the New Deal Era. Although the Framers of the Constitution were deliberate in vesting power over money and spending with Congress, and separating it from the President, in time, Congress eroded this separation with successive ad hoc delegations directly to the Executive. As a consequence, today, the President has far more influence over money in the economy—and levers for “fiscal dominance”—than the Constitution arguably allows, casting a long

Today, I enjoyed reading Professor Christina Parajon Skinner’s timely and important new article, The Monetary Executive, forthcoming in the George Washington Law Review.  It’s definitely a worthwhile read!  Here’s the abstract:

As inflation in 2022 surges to a forty-year high, economists, lawmakers, and the public continue to question why. As part of that inquiry, experts and onlookers seek explanations grounded in errors recently made by the central bank, the U.S. Federal Reserve. This Article argues that, while there is no doubt a host of contributing factors to the current bout of inflation, the President’s role remains comparatively understudied. In particular, the Article adds a new dimension to the growing literature on the fiscal foundations of inflation by studying its longstanding statutory roots, which can be traced back to the New Deal Era. Although the Framers of the Constitution were deliberate in vesting power over money and spending with Congress, and separating it from the President, in time, Congress eroded this separation with successive ad hoc delegations directly to the Executive. As a consequence, today, the President has far more influence over money in the economy—and levers for “fiscal dominance”—than the Constitution arguably allows, casting a long

Dear BLPB Readers:

Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan invites applications for two tenure-track professors (open rank) beginning September 1, 2023. This is an open-area search for faculty with outstanding research records and scholarly expertise related to diversity, racial and social equality and economic mobility and opportunity. The successful candidate will be appointed in one of the Ross School’s disciplinary areas: Accounting, Business Economics and Public Policy, Business Law, Finance, Management and Organizations, Marketing, Strategy, and Technology and Operations.”

The complete job posting is here: Download Ross Job posting for Diversity Position 

Dear BLPB Readers:

“CALL FOR PAPERS
BUSINESS ETHICS AND THE FUTURE OF WORK

The Center for Ethics, Diversity, and Workplace Culture in the Fox School of Business at Temple University, the Center for Legal Studies & Business Ethics in the Spears School of Business at Oklahoma State University, and the American Business Law Journal to Cohost 2023 Symposium:

Business Ethics and the Future of Work

The Center for Ethics, Diversity, and Workplace Culture, the Center for Legal Studies and Business Ethics, and the American Business Law Journal (ABLJ) welcome submissions on business ethics and the future of work. The ABLJ is rated an A journal on the Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC) journal quality list and is the premier peer-reviewed research journal in business law. The symposium theme is consistent with 2020 AACSB Standard 9. The ABLJ anticipates publishing a special issue devoted to the symposium theme.

The societal, economic, cultural, and public health challenges and opportunities of the last decade have dramatically altered the ways that workers around the globe conceive of their work and the workplace. The #MeToo and Black Lives Matter Movements, the global pandemic, innovations in technology and artificial intelligence, and a resurgence of labor organizing

For those BLPB readers watching the derivatives markets, specifically CDS (credit default swaps), an interesting development to be following right now is the potential auction related to the EMEA (Europe) Determinations Committee’s decision that a failure to pay credit event had occurred with respect to the Russian Federation.

Really really briefly – if you want a deeper dive into CDS and the Determinations Committees, see here – CDS are insurance-like contracts in which a protection buyer makes periodic payments akin to an insurance premium to a protection seller to financially “protect” them should a credit event (failure to pay, bankruptcy, etc.) occur on an underlying reference entity, for example, the Russian Federation.  The protection buyer may or may not have actual economic exposure to the underlying entity.   

The importance of a credit event determination is that it triggers the CDS protection seller’s payout obligation.  In general, the amount of this payout obligation is determined by an auction.  The Credit Derivatives Determinations Committees is the dispute resolution mechanism which decides whether or not a credit event has occurred and, if so, whether a settlement auction will be held.  The decision of a Committee applies market-wide.  There are five regional Committees:

Dear BLPB readers:

“Fifth Conference on Law and Macroeconomics
October 20-21, 2022 (virtual)

The macroeconomic instability of the 2020s continues to fuel economic, social, and political
turmoil worldwide and to recast our understanding of law and macroeconomics. The ongoing crisis
has opened up new and vitally important research opportunities. As we press on towards pandemic
recovery and confront new challenges, the Fifth Conference on Law and Macroeconomics will
focus on the law’s role in shaping a sustainable and resilient macroeconomy and on the role of
macroeconomic policy in national, regional, and global governance.”

September 15, 2022 is the deadline for submitting papers for consideration.  The conference website and complete call for papers is here.