Business

The Commodities Future Trading Commission and the Securities Exchange Commission should closely consult the Federal Reserve on conflicts of interests affecting the nation's over-the-counter derivatives clearinghouses, wrote HLS Professor Hal Scott, director of the Committee on Capital Markets Regulation, in a letter to the chairman of the CFTC. 

Lucian Bebchuk, Harvard Law School Professor of Law, Economics, and Finance, and Director of the Corporate Governance Program at Harvard Law School, wrote the op-ed "How to pay a banker," which appeared in the July 27 edition of Project Syndicate. It is part of his "Rules of the game" series written for the website.

“Late Justice is not Justice, but manifest injustice,” wrote Ruy Barbosa de Oliveira (1849-1923), perhaps the most prominent jurist and statesman in the history of Brazil. I was struck by these words during my first year of law school in São Paulo.

Two years after the government bailout of Bear Stearns set off the first shock wave, the Bulletin interviewed HLS faculty and alumni on what went wrong, on where the greatest dangers remain in our financial system and what to do about them.

Harvard Law School students participating in this year’s Supreme Court Litigation Clinic wound up winning a hat trick this year, with the Supreme Court ruling in their favor in all three cases in which the clinic’s students were involved.  

“Rating the Raters,” by HLS Professor Lucian Bebchuk LL.M ’80 S.J.D. ’84, appeared in Project Syndicate on May 24, 2010. It is the latest installment of his monthly column for the publication. Bebchuk is a professor of law, economics, and finance, and director of the Program on Corporate Governance at Harvard Law School.

The Committee on Capital Markets Regulation (CCMR), which is led by Harvard Law School Professor Hal S. Scott, sent Congressional leaders a letter on June 14 urging them to consider its positions on six “critical points” as they begin the final task of reconciling the two financial reform bills passed by the House and the Senate.

As Congress considers legislation to reform Wall Street, Harvard Law School Professor Elizabeth Warren remains on the front lines of the fight as chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel. In a June 7 interview with NPR On Point host Tom Ashbrook, Warren said that lawmakers could end up with a bill that has “no real impact.”

Time Magazine has named Harvard Law School Professor Elizabeth Warren one of the 100 Most Influential People in 2010. Warren is listed in the Thinkers category of the annual TIME 100 issue naming the people who most affect our world.

Harvard Law School Professor John C. Coates IV testified before the Committee on House Administration yesterday regarding the Disclose Act (H.R. 5175), legislation that was created in the wake of the Citizens United v. FEC Supreme Court ruling.

 The following op-ed by Professor Mark Roe, “Derivatives Clearinghouses are No Magic Bullet,” appeared in the May 6, 2010, edition of the Wall Street Journal. Roe looks at the Senate financial overhaul bill, part of which is built around an emerging Washington consensus that a clearinghouse for derivatives could stem a financial crisis such as that which we just experienced.  Roe argues that while a clearinghouse can be a useful step in the right direction, it's incomplete, with other legal improvements needed to make it work well.

Harvard Law School Professor Einer Elhauge ’86 has been selected to receive the Jerry S. Cohen Award for Antitrust Scholarship for his article “Tying, Bundled Discounts, and the Death of the Single Monopoly Profit Theory” (123 Harvard Law Review 397, 2009).

Winners of Harvard Law School’s 57th annual Williston Competition, Harvard’s annual contract negotiation and drafting competition for first-year law students, were announced on April 5. 

Edith Ramirez ’92 was sworn in as a commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission in April. Nominated by President Barack Obama ’91, she joins a five-member commission that works against deceptive advertising and enforces adherence to antitrust law.

Jason Iuliano ’11 will have two articles published in forthcoming editions of the Journal of Food Law and Policy and the West Virginia Law Review. Students rarely have articles published in law reviews and journals though they regularly contribute brief notes; Iuliano’s dual contribution is exceptionally notable.

"Paid to Fail," an op-ed co-written by HLS Professor Lucian Bebchuk LL.M. ’80 S.J.D. ’84, Visiting Professor Alma Cohen, and Lecturer on Law Holger Spamann S.J.D. ’09 appeared in Project Syndicate on March 18, 2010. It is the latest installment of Professor Bebchuk's monthly column for the syndicate.