No city is perfect. Even the best city in the world has its flaws. Issues arise when we ignore simple economics and the free market system. Governmental control of the market often leads to failed systems or systems that are currently in the process of failing.[1] One could argue that a free market system is more beneficial than a government-controlled system. If governmental control of economic systems consistently leads to failure [2], then why do we continue to allow the government to control these systems? Transportation in New York City is an issue that almost every New Yorker must deal…
Author: Michael A. Hurckes
The story of the U.S. wireless industry in the 21st century is one of rapid growth and consolidation.[1] The four largest mobile network operators—Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint—commanded a daunting 98% of the market at the end of 2018.[2] In such a concentrated market, any further horizontal merger attempts would naturally raise antitrust scrutiny, particularly when the merging parties (collectively “T-Mobile-Sprint”) are the two carriers known for low rates and courting customers through aggressive marketing tactics and promotions.[3] Yet T–Mobile and Sprint appear to be headed for a successful merger, sailing through Department of Justice, FCC, and CFIUS review with…
Following a recent trend of increased political scrutiny of technology companies, the California legislature passed a bill, Assembly Bill 5 (AB-5), focused on classifying gig-economy workers as employees.[1] Ride-share corporations, such as Uber and Lyft, have benefitted from classifying the majority of their workers as contractors because it reduces their labor costs. Specifically, classifying gig-economy workers as contractors eliminates the need for employers to provide them with minimum wage, overtime pay, health benefits or scheduled breaks.[2] The bill’s design would drastically alter this cost structure. Legislators crafted the bill’s language to parallel the legal outcome in Dynamex Operations West, Inc.…
In 2014, a small money laundering investigation into a shady car wash in Brasilia, unpredictably unraveled into what may be the biggest corruption scandal in world history[1], and the largest securities fraud case by a foreign issuer in U.S. history.[2] The scandal led to the imprisonment of dozens of high-executives of Latin America’s most prestigious corporations, and the fall from grace of several former and sitting presidents with otherwise impressive democratic records.[3] Below, we describe the aspects that have made the Lava Jato case so massive and influential, and explore how its ongoing consequences could represent a watershed moment in…
In 2018, the number of Americans participating in labor strikes reached its highest level in over 30 years.[1] This is somewhat surprising, given that both labor unions and general worker organizations have faced a series of new obstacles in recent decades. With the adoption of “right to work” (“RTW”) laws throughout the country and the recent Janus Supreme Court ruling, stating that government workers should not be required to pay union fees, it is fair to say that the traditional worker protections established during the New Deal are facing an all-time ebb.[2] The percentage of U.S. workers who belong to…
Friday, October 18, 2019 When investors and the securities markets suffer as a result of misrepresentations, fraud, and other violations of law, they seek private and public enforcement across different jurisdictions. This year’s Symposium featured leading securities law practitioners, academics, and government officials from the United States, Central America, and Europe, as they discussed the comparative advantages of private and public enforcement and the effectiveness of regulatory systems in different jurisdictions. First Panel: The first panel featured practitioners and scholars with a focus on international securities litigation. These panelists discussed several…
Analysts, commentators, and politicians have recently started proposing employee-elected directors as a remedy for labor relations issues.[1] These director seats are common in other countries such as Germany, which requires employee representation on corporate boards by statute.[2] Though employee representation on corporate boards may be required in Germany and other civil law countries, the fiduciary duties owed by corporate directors contrast with what the common law requires from directors in the United States.[3] This post will analyze the duty of loyalty owed to shareholders as an employee-elected director attempting to be re-elected, a component of fiduciary duty. The different responsibilities…
Blockchain technology is increasingly permeating the everyday lives of countless people. Applications of the cutting-edge technology range from secured banking to tracking mortgage titles. A particular blockchain technology, dubbed “smart contracts,” has the potential to revolutionize how individuals and companies securely contract with each other. Smart contracts, however, are not widely employed, mainly because potential users are uncertain of their enforceability as contracts under existing state contract laws. Similar skepticism slowed the acceptance of electronic signatures in the late 1990s, but was resolved ultimately through a model uniform act recognizing electronic signatures’ effectiveness across interstate borders. This Note proposes…
The contemporary state of corporate law in the United States is one that is skewed toward the archaic principle of shareholder primacy. This narrow conception of corporate purpose has resulted in governance mechanisms that tend to overlook the many stakeholders that are affected by, and, in turn, affect the bottom line of modern corporations. In the wake of the recently proposed Accountable Capitalism Act, this Note investigates the viability of adopting a system of mandated worker board representation—codetermination—in the United States. The Note employs a comparative analysis of the German and Swedish experiences with codetermination, and then evaluates the…
While the business model of private equity has remained largely unchanged since the 1980s, private equity as an industry has undergone a dramatic transformation. In the early 1980s, private equity was both highly profitable and highly controversial. Today, on the other hand, it is an important asset class and its returns are modest. This paper will document both of these changes and identify the several factors that contributed simultaneously to private equity’s declining profitability and to its increasing public acceptance. This paper will also identify another change that private equity underwent in the 1980s, which has been largely ignored:…