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Haskell Murray

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Professor Murray teaches business law, business ethics, and alternative dispute resolution courses to undergraduate and graduate students. Currently, his research focuses on corporate governance, mergers & acquisitions, sports law, and social entrepreneurship law issues.

Professor Murray is the 2018-19 President of the Southeastern Academy of Legal Studies in Business (“SEALSB”) and is a co-editor of the Business Law Professor Blog. His articles have been published in a variety of journals, including the American Business Law Journal, the Delaware Journal of Corporate Law, the Harvard Business Law Review, and the Maryland Law Review. Read More

Belmont University starts classes on Wednesday. Below I share a few tips for new students. Josh posted a good list earlier this week, but my list is a bit different, perhaps because I teach primarily undergraduate and graduate business students. None of these is new or earthshattering, but, like many simple things, they remain difficult to put into action.

  1. Be Professional. As I often tell my students, you start building your reputation in school. I have declined business opportunities from former classmates because I remembered how they conducted themselves in school. Be on time, be prepared, be thoughtful, and be honest. We should recognize that people change over time and be open to giving second chances, but, unfortunately, not everyone will be quick to change an opinion they form of you while you are in school.
  2. Get to Know Your Classmates and Your Professors. Building relationships is an important aspect of personal and professional life. It is tempting to just put your head down in school and not spend time trying to form strong bonds. An incredible number of students never meet with their professors or only meet with them right before a project or an exam. Professors and classmates are

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There has been a lot of debate online about Ryan Lochte (#LochteGate or #LochMess) and whether he and his swimming friends were actually robbed in Rio after their Olympic events had finished. See here, here, and here for some of the commentary. 

Lawyer Dan Eaton opines that Ryan Lochte is unlikely to go to jail, even if he lied.

While I agree that jail time is unlikely based on the facts available at this time, Lochte’s endorsements could be at risk. Earlier this year, I blogged about morals clauses in endorsement contracts. If Lochte’s contracts include morals clauses (as many do), and if he lied about the robbery, it is possible that he may lose some lucrative endorsements deals. It is still not clear what the motive for lying was (if they did lie). I assume we will learn more in the next few days.   

Update: Speedo and Ralph Lauren dropped (or are not renewing) sponsorship of Ryan Lochte. Spokespeople for both companies cited Lochte’s statements about the occurrence in Rio. My wife let me know that some are now calling Lochte “Swim Shaddy.”

In the spring of 2012, around the time that Facebook purchased Instagram for roughly $1 billion, I was teaching an M&A class.

At the time, I had difficulty explaining why Facebook would pay that amount of money for a company that was not only not profitable, but also had no revenue. I spoke as someone trained to use multiples EBITDA and as someone who did not (and still does not) have an Instagram account.

Now, over four years later, Forbes estimates Instagram’s value at $25billion to $50billion. That valuation still requires some creativity, as Instagram had sales of “only” $630 million in 2015. Instagram, however, has added roughly 100 million new users in the last 9 months and is projected to have revenue of $1.5billion this year. While there is reason to be wary of projections, the projected sales for Instagram in 2018 is an impressive $5billion.

This drives home that valuation is as much art as science, and the conventional valuation methods will not work well for every company. In that deal, I imagine Instagram’s technology, brand, and the user base were all large value drivers. With the benefit of hindsight, Instagram is looking like a good acquisition for Facebook, even if the current projections end

From an e-mail I received:

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The University of Richmond School of Law seeks to fill two entry-level tenure-track positions for the 2017-2018 academic year, including one in corporate/transactional law.  Candidates should have outstanding academic credentials and show superb promise for top-notch scholarship and teaching.  The University of Richmond, an equal opportunity employer, is committed to developing a diverse workforce and student body and to supporting an inclusive campus community.  Applications from candidates who will contribute to these goals are strongly encouraged. 

Inquiries and requests for additional information may be directed to Professor Jessica Erickson, Chair of Faculty Appointments, at lawfacultyapp@richmond.edu. 

I arrived at the SEALS conference yesterday afternoon, and a majority of the blog’s co-editor professors are here.
At 3pm (until 6pm) Josh, Ann, Joan, Marcia and I (among others) will be taking part in the discussion group on sustainability and sustainable business.
If you are here, come join us at 3pm.

The University of Nebraska College of Law is hiring, and business law is one of their areas of interest. See the ad below:

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The UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA COLLEGE OF LAW invites applications for entry-level and lateral

candidates for one or more tenure-track or tenured faculty positions. Our needs include courses related

to

• Business Law (e.g., Business Associations; Corporate Finance, Corporate Governance, Insurance Law,

Bankruptcy, Corporate Restructuring, Nonprofit Organizations, Risk Management / Compliance, or White

Collar Crime)

• Criminal Law (e.g., Federal Criminal Law or White Collar Crime, Criminal Procedure 2, Post-Conviction

Remedies, or Criminal Sentencing);

• Health Care (e.g., Federal Regulation of Health Care Providers, Health Care Finance, Torts,

Administrative Law, Medical Malpractice, Privacy Law, Law and Medicine, Public Health Law, Bioethics

and the Law, and the Law of Provider and Patient);

• Litigation Skills and Related Courses (e.g., Trial Advocacy, Civil Rights Litigation, Pretrial Litigation or

other litigation skills courses, Conflicts of Laws);

• Family Law;

• Education Law; and

• Election Law.

Minimum Required Qualifications: J.D Degree or Equivalent, Superior Academic Record, Demonstrated

Interest in Relevant Substantive Areas. Title of Asst/Assoc/or Full Professor will be based on

qualifications of applicant. Please fill out the University application,

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As in past years, I will maintain lists of law professor openings in the business areas (excluding commercial law-only posts) and legal studies professor openings outside of law schools. If your school has an opening that you would like posted, feel free to contact me. 

The law professor openings list uses the PrawfsBlawg spreadsheet, if an alternate link is not provided. Positions added after today will include the date added.

Law School Professor Positions (Business Law Areas)

Legal Studies Professor Positions (Outside of Law Schools, Mostly in Business Schools)

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As loyal readers may have noticed, I am excited about the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Rio.

While the Olympics is sure to be heavily watched, the Games are not that lucrative for many of the participants. The average Olympian supposedly only makes around $20,000 a year from sponsorships and has significant travel, medical, and coaching costs.

On the GoFundMe website alone, there are over 140 campaigns in their “Athletes Competing in Rio” category. Collectively, the campaigns have raised over $680,000.

Here are a few stories about Olympic athletes using crowdfunding. (Inc., Forbes, USA Today).

For those who will be attending the SEALS Conference and are interested in crowdfunding, my co-blogger Joan Heminway is moderating a discussion group on “The Legal Aspects of Small Business Finance in the Crowdfunding Era” on Tuesday, August 9 from 9am-12pm, which promises to be interesting. Most of the Olympic athletes appear to be using gift-based crowdfunding, but in the SEALS discussion group, I will present on a proposal for firms to use equity crowdfunding in connection with building athletic communities that could include Olympic athletes.

Following on Joan’s excellent post about networking letters, I wanted to share a few words about thank you letters.

Attorney Kyle Westaway organizes “thank yous” into four levels:

  • Level 1 — Email saying thanks for the time and insight.
  • Level 2 — Level 1 + this is how your insight impacted my life.
  • Level 3 — Handwritten thank you note.
  • Level 4 — Level 3 + a small gift.

This seems right, and Kyle’s entire post is well worth reading at the link above.

A mere thank you e-mail usually isn’t worth much, but it is better than nothing (unless the thank you is typo-riddled, and then it might be worse than nothing). The e-mail is worth more if the author recounts meaningful specifics from your conversation or picks up on a way that he/she might be of assistance.

The handwritten note has made a comeback after interviews, but I don’t think it has had the same resurgence after networking/advice meetings. This is a shame because generally the interviewer is just doing his or her job, while the person who is honoring your networking/advice request is usually the one bestowing a true gift. Due to the relative rarity, I think handwritten notes are even more appreciated after a networking/advice meeting than after an…