Category Archives: Case Studies

The Case for Bankruptcy Court Discretion to Shift Attorney’s Fees

By | August 16, 2021

My recent paper, Fee-Shifting in Bankruptcy, examines the circumstances under which courts permit and refuse parties’ recovery of bankruptcy-related attorneys’ fees as costs. It turns out that, in bankruptcy, most of the major parties are not bearing their own attorney’s fees. In this context, it is fatuous to treat the American Rule as a basic point of… Read More »

The Role of Academic Research in SEC Rulemaking: Evidence from Business Roundtable v. SEC

By | June 18, 2021

In our paper, “The Role of Academic Research in SEC Rulemaking: Evidence from Business Roundtable v. SEC,” we examine the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) use of academic research in its rulemaking. We focus on the DC District Court’s decision in Business Roundtable v. SEC (2011) to strike down the proxy-access rule, which was promulgated by the SEC… Read More »

Green Urban Development: The Impact Investment Strategy of Canadian Pension Funds

By | June 16, 2021

With the global push toward sustainable investment, investors are concerned about whether the cost of investing green will result in lower portfolio returns in the long term. Are there win-win strategies where green investments can generate high returns alongside positive environmental impact? Our new paper, funded by the National Pension Hub at the Global Risk Institute,… Read More »

How Much Insider Trading Happens in Stock Markets?

By | March 31, 2021

Substantial regulatory and enforcement resources are spent combatting insider trading in financial markets. In 2020 alone, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) employed approximately 1,300 staff members in its Enforcement Division and committed $550 million in resources to investigating and prosecuting illegal insider trading.   While it is clear that insider trading occurs, opinions vary significantly as to the… Read More »

Democratizing of Free Markets’ Mission Failed

By | February 22, 2021

The democratization of finance is the self-proclaimed noble cause that Robinhood1 is pursuing by enabling commission-free investing for everyone. However, recent events revealed that the old saying “if it’s free, you are the product,“ has been successfully implemented in the retail investment world. In this article, we cover the recent GameStop fiasco, Robinhood’s business model, and what it means for a modern retail investor.  GameStop Fiasco  It all started with GameStop (NYSE: GME), a US video game retailer,… Read More »

CEO-to-employee pay ratio and CEO diversity

By | February 3, 2021

Concerns about income inequality and supposed CEO rent extraction motivated the enaction of Section 953(b) of Dodd-Frank Act. The SEC issued new rules to implement 953(b) in 2015 and they became effective in 2017.  The rules require public companies to disclose their median employee pay and its ratio to CEO pay. The CEO-to-employee pay ratio increased 1000% in the last 40 years according to Economic Policy Institute,… Read More »

117th Congress Begins by Protecting Whistleblowers 

By | January 25, 2021

This post first appeared on the Climate Risk Disclosure Lab’s website.  As the 117th Congress commences, the United States is facing several immense and immediate challenges: the COVID-19 pandemic, its resulting economic crisis, and climate change among them. Against this backdrop, the House of Representatives has made protecting whistleblowers one of their first legislative actions.    Every Congress starts by passing rules that all members and staff must abide by. This year, the House rules for the 117th Congress, contained in House Res. 8, included provisions concerning whistleblowers.  In response… Read More »

CEO Activism and Firm Value

By | January 21, 2021

In recent years, it has become increasingly common for corporate leaders to speak out on hot-button social and political issues. CEOs like Tim Cook (Apple) and Marc Benioff (Salesforce) have expressed their views in support of LGBTQ rights, Satya Nadella (Microsoft) and Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook) have been outspoken on immigration, and Bob Iger (Walt Disney)… Read More »

Current State of Research on Factor Investing in Government Bonds

By | January 18, 2021

Factor investing has grown in popularity over the last few decades, especially with respect to equity markets. After extending Fama-French factors to corporate bond markets, recent research has more often concentrated on the government bond space and revealed that there is indeed clear empirical evidence for the existence of significant government bond factors. Voices that… Read More »