The May 2014 issue of the The Business Lawyer includes two excellent articles.
Rethinking Basic
By Lucian A. Bebchuk and Allen Ferrell
In the Halliburton case, the United States Supreme Court reconsidered the ruling in the decision of Basic Inc. v. Levinson that, 25 years ago, adopted the fraud-on-the-market theory, which has since facilitated securities class action litigation. Professors Bebchuk and Ferrell seek to contribute to this reconsideration by providing a conceptual and economic framework for a reexamination of the Basic rule, taking into account and relating their analysis to the Justices' questions at the Halliburton oral argument.
Equity Receivers and the In Pari Delicto Defense
By Hon. Steven Rhodes and Kathy Bazoian Phelps
Federal equity receivers are creations of equity. The in pari delicto doctrine is similarly a defense based in equity. When equity receivers are called upon to administer the assets of a receivership entity for the benefit of defrauded victims, courts sitting in equity must balance the needs of the victims with the rights of the defendants to assert the in pari delicto defense to litigation claims brought by the receiver against them. The competing equities reveal the great discretion that courts can exercise in permitting litigation claims to proceed in the face of the assertion of the in pari delicto defense. Courts, however, must also be mindful of a variety of issues and obstacles in deciding whether to allow the in pari delicto defense.
Take a look at the May edition for a wide variety of surveys, reports, and papers prepared for the May 2013 Seminar of the Working Group on Legal Opinions, which commemorated the 40th anniversary of publication in The Business Lawyer of the seminal article on third-party closing legal opinions by James J. Fuld, titled “Legal Opinions in Business Transactions—An Attempt to Bring Some Order Out of Some Chaos.”
The Business Law Section Annual Meeting
The Business Law Section will hold its first Business Law Section Annual Meeting September 10 – 13, 2014 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago.
Highlights for the event include:
- More than 65 CLE programs prepared and presented by practice-area experts;
- Up-to-the-minute topical sessions covering the latest business law issues relevant to your practice;
- Social events designed to facilitate networking with new contacts and reconnecting with old friends; and
- Hundreds of Committee and Subcommittee meetings addressing field developments and upcoming or ongoing projects.
A kick-off event at the Section Annual Meeting will be the first ever in-person In The Know program. In The Know is a monthly CLE series sponsored by the Business Law Section and is free of charge to all Section members. The September program will be held at the Hyatt Regency Chicago on September 10, 2014 from 5:00 – 6:30 pm EDT (4:00 – 5:30 pm CDT). The Program is titled “Ethics Basics for Business Lawyers” and will be sponsored by the Professional Responsibility Committee. If you are unable to join us in person for the program, it will also be presented as a webinar. Webinar participants should register in advance at www.ambar.org/intheknow.
To help young lawyers and lawyers new to the meeting navigate the many offerings, the Young Lawyer Committee has curated the Young Lawyer Institute Track of programs offered at the Section Annual Meeting. The Institute Track includes 16 programs and meetings, as well as Committee meetings, receptions and social events. All CLE programs in the Young Lawyer Institute Track provide an introductory or overview focus on a particular area of the law. The Institute Track is a great starting point to help plan your meeting schedule.
If you are not yet registered for the Section Annual Meeting, you can register in advance through August 22. For detailed information about the Section Annual Meeting, go to the Meeting webpage at www.ambar.org/blnewannual where you will find a detailed schedule, maps, a list of special events, and meeting amenities. Please plan on joining us for what promises to be a fabulous event.