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I was going to blog today about Usha Rodrigues’s article on section 12(g) of the Exchange Act, but my co-blogger Ann Lipton stole my thunder over the weekend. If you’re interested in securities law and you haven’t read Ann’s excellent post on section 12(g), you should. Ann discusses Usha Rodrigues’s article on the history and policy of section 12(g); if you haven’t read it, I strongly recommend it. It’s available here. (Even if you’re not interested in reading about section 12(g), I highly recommend Usha’s scholarship in general. I’ve read several of her articles and blog posts over the last few years; she has become one of the leading commentators on securities and corporate law. She blogs at The Conglomerate.)

Instead of discussing section 12(g), I’m going to talk about exams. I finished grading my fall exams about a month ago and I’ve had time to reflect on them. The main reason students don’t do well on exams is that they don’t know or understand the material. But I’ve been reflecting on the difference between exams that are pretty good and exams that are excellent. Those students all know the material, so that’s not the…

I am taking a MOOC from University of Illinois and Coursera on digital marketing. I’ve been trying to take at least one course a semester. Both the underlying material, and the intricacies of online education have been interesting. I chose this course because I have family members in the digital marketing area, and I am taking (and discussing) this course with them.

Later, I may discuss some of  the substantive take-aways from the course — I have completed about 50% of the course so far — but in this post I want to discuss business/academic entanglement.

In this digital marketing class, an assignment on co-creation (by firms & their customers) consisted of creating an online account with Starbucks, submitting an idea for consideration, and reporting how the idea was received by commenters. This was a useful exercise and it made the concept come alive, but I couldn’t help wondering if Starbucks was somehow involved with University of Illinois and/or Coursera in creating this assignment. To be clear, I have no idea whether Starbucks was or was not involved.  But, in any event, with the thousands (and maybe 10s of thousands) of people who are taking this course, this assignment seemed like a win for Starbucks.  Well, actually, this idea…

Employers and hiring coordinators are busy people.  Like law review editorial boards, they get many more qualified submissions than they need for the openings they have.  One of our challenges in advising students in the job search game is making their submissions stand out.  Of course, personal connections and timing are very helpful in this regard.  But résumés and cover letters also are important and may make a real difference in obtaining interviews and getting desired offers of employment.  

As we settle into the new semester, my unemployed 3L students have begun to seek help from me in their quest to launch their careers post-graduation. One resource I highlight is the BLPB.  Co-blogger Haskell Murray earlier posted some super information about résumés and interviews.  I followed, at his suggestion, with a post on cover letters (and then one on following up with firms that have not initially extended an interview invitation).  This post adds some new details on cover letters that respond to common mistakes I see and questions I have been asked about my earlier post on that topic.

Specifically, I want to describe better the key personalized part of the cover letter–the body of the letter between the introductory and closing paragraphs.  This is the segment of the letter that, if everything else looks and sounds right, calls the applicant out on an individualized basis and holds the promise of positively distinguishing her or him from other applicants.  Here’s what I said about this section of the cover letter in my original post:

The body of the letter is the most important as a matter of content. It is where you get to show that you have what the employer needs and wants for the position. You should rely on any position announcement you have to write this part of the letter. If there is no announcement or other position description, seek information about or rely on your knowledge of the position to identify the employer’s needs and wants. Summarize for yourself from those needs and wants the specific skills and experience being sought by the employer. Then, demonstrate, preferably by example, how you fill these needs and satisfy these wants in a few (no more than three) short paragraphs. Avoid repeating what’s on your resume and refrain from using characterizing adjectives and adverbs. Show the reader that you are a good fit and among the most qualified folks for the job. Don’t just say it.

There’s a lot in that passage!  Note also that the comments to that original post add a bit more on some of these (and other) matters.  Critical embedded messages in the quoted paragraph include the desirability of:

  • presenting customized information that directly addressees the job requirements set forth in the position announcement (or any other manifestations of the prospective employer’s needs and wants);
  • demonstrating, rather than characterizing, the applicant’s “fit” through the information provided;
  • avoiding mere repetition of information included in your résumé; and
  • avoiding the use of unnecessary adjectives and adverbs.

I address each in turn below.

The AALS Section on Business Associations and Law is honoring 13 exemplary mentors for their contributions to scholarship, teaching and the development of new business law scholars.  Those honored were nominated by fellow members of the AALS Section.  The mentors will be recognized at the conclusion of the AALS BA Section meeting on January 8th (1:30-3:15) at the Annual AALS meeting in New York.  Please join me in congratulating our colleagues and thanking them for their contributions to our field.

-Anne Tucker

The AALS Annual meeting starts today in New York.  The full program is available here, and listed below are two Section meeting announcements of particular interest to business law scholars:

Thursday, January 7th from 1:30 pm – 3:15 pm the SECTION ON AGENCY, PARTNERSHIP, LLC’S AND UNINCORPORATED ASSOCIATIONS, COSPONSORED BY TRANSACTIONAL LAW AND SKILLS will meet in the Murray Hill East, Second Floor, New York Hilton Midtown for a program titled:

“Contract is King, But Can It Govern Its Realm?”  

The program will be moderated by Benjamin Means, University of South Carolina School of Law.  Discussants include:

  • Joan M. Heminway, University of Tennessee College of Law
  • Lyman P.Q. Johnson, Washington and Lee University School of Law
  • Mark J. Loewenstein, University of Colorado School of Law
  • Mohsen Manesh, University of Oregon School of Law
  • Sandra K. Miller, Professor, Widener University School of Business Administration, Chester, PA

BLPB hosted an online micro-symposium in advance of the Contract is King meeting.  The wrap up from this robust discussion is available here.

Friday January 8th, from 1:30 pm – 3:15 pm join the SECTION ON BUSINESS ASSOCIATIONS AND LAW
AND ECONOMICS JOINT PROGRAM at the Sutton South, Second Floor, New York Hilton Midtown for a program titled:

 “The Corporate …

This is the time of year when many people make New Year’s resolutions, and I suppose that law professors do so as well. I’m taking a break from teaching business associations next semester. Instead, I will teach Business and Human Rights as well as Civil Procedure II. I love Civ Pro II because my twenty years of litigation experience comes in handy when we go through discovery. I focus a lot on ethical issues in civil procedure even though my 1Ls haven’t taken professional responsibility because I know that they get a lot of their context from TV shows like Suits, in which a young “lawyer” (who never went to law school) has a photographic memory and is mentored by a very aggressive senior partner whose ethics generally kick in just in the nick of time. It will also be easy to talk about ethical issues in business and human rights. What are the ethical, moral, financial, and societal implications of operating in countries with no regard for human rights and how should that impact a board’s decision to maximize shareholder value? Can socially-responsible investors really make a difference and when and how should they use their influence? Those…

Merry Christmas, Law Profs

Greeting cards have not been sent.

The Christmas stress is true.
But I still have one wish to make,
A special one for you:

Merry Christmas, law profs!
We’re on break(?), that’s true.
So I can dream,
And in my dreams,
There’s no more grading to do!
Grading’s ne’er joyful.
There’s always something “new.”
And every day’s a taxing one,
When grades and gifts are due.
The lights on my tree
( . . . Wait–is there a tree?)
Perhaps we’ll buy one today . . . ?!
No logs on the fire,
But I have real desire
To take a break and say
That I wish you Merry Christmas
–Happy New Year too.
I’ve just one wish
On this Christmas Eve:
I wish that grading was through!
I wish that grading was through!!
Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas, law profs.

 

Still grading, and (in the process) reflecting on the line in Marcia Narine’s post from last week on the references to “creepy tender offers” and “limited liability corporations” in her students’  final exam submissions . . . .  I thought I might share today a few of my own favorite outtakes from my students’ Business Associations exams.  I know that the time crunch and the nature of the exam software contribute mightily to the typing errors in student submissions, but on the reading end, some of the answers submitted are just . . . well . . . funny.  As you’ll no doubt note, today’s post focuses mostly on closely held corporations (with one typo relating to limited partnerships).

First , there are, of course, the transposed letters.  Most of these don’t warrant more than a brief mention.  The limited partnership act references to UPLA and RUPLA, instead of ULPA and RULPA fit into this category.  Similar are the inevitable variants of case names (Donahue becoming Danahue, Donahur, and Donaue, etc.). 

Then, there are the many misspelling of fiduciary(ies)–which I have come to believe may just be a hard word to type.  (Or maybe no one actually knows how to spell it.)  Un…

A number of months back, the Business Law Prof Blog hosted a series of five posts by Marcos Antonio Mendoza (here, here, here, here, and here) that were quite popular.  He wrote about (among other things) the need to educate students for the evolving roles in which they may serve as corporate counsel.  His recent article on corporate counsel.com offers much food for thought along those lines and serves as a good reminder, as we head into a new semester, of what our students may need long-term in the workplace.  In both this article and his earlier BLPB posts, Marcos is reacting to an academic research paper, “Finding the Right Corporate Legal Strategy” (available to subscribers or for purchase), published last year in the MIT Sloan Management Review by Professor Robert C. Bird of the University of Connecticut School of Business and Professor David Orozco from the Florida State University College of Business.

Although you all should read Marcos’s Corporate Counsel article (and his posts) for yourselves, I will offer a few quotes from the article and related law school instruction take-aways here.  These largely repeat and reframe Marcos’s own observations in his BLPB posts.

  • “[T]he

…