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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

Attention BLPB readers:

The Ohio State Business Law Journal (OSBLJ) is a student-run and student-edited journal that provides a forum for quality, cutting edge articles related to business and corporate law. We publish bi-annually: one edition on scholarly articles and the other edition on student note written by our journal members. We are currently accepting submissions from legal scholars for our scholarly edition, which will deal with the question of whether the business legal structure hamper coping with crises.

We believe that in addition to the relevancy of this topic to the current times, this edition will tie in nicely with the theme of our upcoming symposium in March 2021, “Confronting Crises: Preparing for the Unexpected.”  In this symposium, we will have various panels, including: whether the government should take ownership of failing companies; contracting for the worst case scenario; effects of government response to crises; and tax law—the impact of government intervention and the effects it will have on businesses.

We are currently accepting submissions via Scholastica, as well as submissions via email. Any questions, as well as submissions, may be emailed to Mayu Nakano at nakano.17@osu.edu. We look forward to hearing from you!

Those of us who study banking law and regulation know it’s an absolutely exciting area! That’s particularly true at the moment. Not only are we watching the path of Lacewell v. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), a case about the OCC’s power to grant federal fintech charters to nondepository institutions, currently in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, but we’ve also been treated to dueling banking law prof amicus curiae briefs (additional amicus briefs were also filed). In this week’s post, I’ll highlight the brief led by Lev Menand, Saule Omarova, Morgan Ricks, Joe Sommer, and Art Wilmarth, and signed by thirty-three banking law scholars (here).

The professors begin by stating their interest: “ensuring that banking agencies stay within their statutory mandates and work in the public interest.” They term the OCC’s proposal to charter nondepository fintech firms “a dangerous power grab premised on the novel claim that banking is just another word for lending.” In a nutshell, the scholars argue that “the OCC does not have the power to charter entities that are not in the deposit – that is, money creation – business.” It’s actually illegal – as the brief notes – for…

The Academy of Legal Studies in Business is in the midst of its annual conference.  And, not surprisingly, it’s completely online.  Although we aren’t able to meet in person this year, the event has been a really great, remarkably smooth experience.  Pre-pandemic, the Program Chair, Professor Robert Bird, at the University of Connecticut School of Business, presciently selected the theme of “Managing Disruption.”

For me, one highlight of the conference thus far has been the opportunity to hear guest speaker Lee Buchheit’s remarks to the ALSB’s International Section on the “State of the Art of Sovereign Debt Restructuring.”  Buchheit is arguably the world’s leading expert on sovereign debt restructuring.  As an FT Alphaville piece put it: Buchheit “has represented nearly every country that has gone bankrupt since the 1980s, sparring with aggrieved creditors and cajoling stricken governments back to fiscal health — and in the process almost single-handedly building up an entire field of international law.”  He didn’t disappoint, giving us a fascinating overview of the major disruption the pandemic is causing in the sovereign debt arena, and the likely challenges that lie ahead, including the risk of a systemic sovereign debt crisis such as happened in the 1980s. …

The University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law invites applications for faculty positions at the rank of associate professor (tenure track) beginning academic year 2021-2022. Candidates should be aspiring law faculty or junior lateral candidates. Qualifications for the positions include a legal degree, an exemplary academic record, demonstrated scholarly merit, and proven or potential teaching distinction, and a demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Although all qualified candidates will be considered, the College of Law seeks candidates with teaching interests primarily in the areas of administrative law, business associations, civil procedure, commercial law, constitutional law, contracts, clinics/experiential learning, and federal courts, and secondarily in the areas of environmental law, property, and torts. Candidates should submit an application to the University of Utah Human Resources website: https://utah.peopleadmin.com/postings/106394. 

BLPB Readers, below is an announcement about an open faculty position at the University of Connecticut School of Business:
 
Assistant, Associate or Full Professor of Business & Human Rights at the University of Connecticut
The School of Business at the University of Connecticut invites applications for a tenure-track or tenured position at the rank of Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, or Professor of Business and Human Rights to begin in Fall 2021.

This faculty position will focus on the intersection of business and human rights broadly understood, including, but not limited to, environmental and social sustainability, corporate social responsibility, social innovation, and social entrepreneurship. The position will reside in the department/discipline of the successful candidate’s research and teaching domains, including Accounting, Finance, Management, Marketing/Business Law, and Operations and Information Management. The successful candidate will collaborate on the development and implementation of research, curricular, and public engagement activities with faculty affiliated with the Human Rights Institute and the Business and Human Rights Initiative at the University of Connecticut. See the following links for more information about the Human Rights Institute (https://humanrights.uconn.edu) and the Business and Human Rights Initiative (https://businessandhumanrights.uconn.edu). 

Preference will be given to applications received by

…

On June 29, 2020, the Department of Labor reinstated it’s “five-part test” for determining what constitutes investment advice under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).  The test first went into effect in 1975 and remained the governing standard as financial products and the investment advice industry changed significantly.  In 2016, as part of its fiduciary rulemaking, Labor embraced a broader test which was later invalidated by the Fifth Circuit.

The reinstated five-part test governs when someone giving investment advice for a fee will be classified as a fiduciary under ERISA and subject to its obligations. To be subject to ERISA, the person must:

  • render advice with respect to the plan [or IRA] as to the value of securities or other property, or make recommendations as to the advisability of investing in, purchasing, or selling securities or other property;
  • on a regular basis;
  • pursuant to a mutual agreement, arrangement, or understanding with the plan, plan fiduciary or IRA owner, that,
  • the advice will serve as a primary basis for investment decisions with respect to plan or IRA assets; and that
  • the advice will be individualized based on the particular needs of the plan or IRA.

The five-part test should…

So, I knew about TEDx and TED Talks, but I just learned about TED-Ed today in viewing Professors George Siedel & Christine Ladwig’s “Ethical Dilemma: The Burger Murders” (here).  If you’re planning to incorporate an ethics module into your business law courses this year, including their video and accompanying teaching materials could be a great, entertaining addition to your class that I think students would love.  Along with their fun, short video, Siedel and Ladwig have provided teaching materials (here) that include multiple choice and open ended questions; a “dig deeper” piece; and, a guided discussion section.  They posted only yesterday, and have already had 152,224 views and 744 comments!  Check it out!  And if you didn’t see my prior post on Siedel’s negotiation materials, check that out too (here)!      

I wanted to share with BLPB readers that two of my articles that I’ve mentioned in previous posts (here and here) have now been published.  I’ve posted them to SSRN.  Comments welcome!

An abstract for Ethics of Legal Astuteness: Barring Class Actions Through Arbitration Clauses, written with Daniel T. Ostas and published in the Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal is below, and the article is here.

Recent Supreme Court cases empower firms to effectively bar class
action lawsuits through mandatory arbitration clauses included in
consumer adhesion and employment contracts. This article reviews
these legal changes and argues for economic self-restraint among
both corporate executives and corporate lawyers who advise them.
Arbitration has many virtues as it promises to reduce transaction costs
and to streamline economic exchange. Yet, the ethics of implementing
a legal strategy often requires self-restraint when one is in a position
of power, and always requires respect for due process when issues of
human health, safety, and dignity are in play.

An abstract for Banking on the Cloud, written with David Fratto and Lee Reiners, and published in Transactions: The Tennessee Journal of Business Law is below, and the article is here.…

In a past post (here), I mentioned stumbling (thankfully!!) into teaching in the area of Negotiation and Dispute Resolution while a PhD student focused on financial regulation.  For so many reasons, the opportunity to pursue doctoral studies in the Ethics & Legal Studies Program at the Wharton Business School was truly a great blessing!  So, I’m delighted to share with BLPB readers that applications for the Program’s incoming class of 2021 are now being accepted.  If you – or someone you know – might be interested in learning more, an quick overview is provided below and an informational flyer here: Download Ethics&LegalStudiesDoctoralProgram

The Ethics & Legal Studies Doctoral Program at Wharton focuses on the study of ethics and law in business. It is designed to prepare graduates for tenure-track careers in university teaching and research at leading business schools, and law schools.

Our curriculum crosses many disciplinary boundaries. Students take a core set of courses in the area of ethics and law in business, along with courses in an additional disciplinary concentration such as law, management, philosophy/ethical theory, finance, marketing, or accounting. Students can take courses in other Penn departments and can pursue joint degrees. Additionally, our program…

Yesterday, Randal K. Quarles, the Vice Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and Chair of the Financial Stability Board (FSB), gave a speech at the Exchequer Club entitled “Global in Life and Orderly in Death: Post-Crisis Reforms and the Too-Big-to-Fail Question” (here).  As he notes, the catchy first part of this title harkens back to the 2010 words of Mervyn King, then Governor of the Bank of England, who stated that “most large complex financial institutions are global—at least in life if not in death.”  Quarles asserts that “In this pithy sentence, he [King] summed up the challenge policymakers faced.” 

The context of Quarles’ speech is the FSB’s recent consultation report: Evaluation of the effects of too-big-to-fail reforms (here).  Two major challenges post-crisis banking reforms sought to address were: 1) the market’s assumption that big banks would not be allowed to fail, and the moral hazard this created, and 2) the absence of effective resolution frameworks for global banks, which lead to bank rescues.   There’s lots of good news here, including that prior to the current crisis, globally systemically important bank capital ratios had doubled since 2011 to 14%. …