Conference in Honor of Professor John C. Coffee, Jr.

On Friday, March 22, 2024, join us for a conference in honor of the scholarship and academic contributions of John C. Coffee, Jr., Adolf A. Berle Professor of Law, Columbia Law School.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the lunchtime keynote conversation will now be virtual.

Registration is required to attend. Registration will close on Wednesday, March 20th at 12 p.m. EST. Same-day admittance will not be permitted.

A prolific scholar, Professor John C. Coffee, Jr. is a leading authority on securities law, corporate governance, white collar crime, tender offers and acquisitions, and class actions. His insights have helped shape and reshape our understanding of these areas, leaving an indelible mark among scholars, judges, regulators, practitioners and, of course, students. 

Coffee is widely published in law journals around the world. His scholarly books include Corporate Crime and Punishment: The Crisis of Underenforcement (2020), Entrepreneurial Litigation: Its Rise, Fall, and Future (2016); The Regulatory Aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis with Eilís Ferran, Niamh Moloney, and Jennifer G. Hill (2012); Gatekeepers: The Professions and Corporate Governance (2006); and Knights, Raiders, and Targets: The Impact of the Hostile Takeover with Louis Lowenstein and Susan Rose-Ackerman (1988).  He also is a co-author or co-editor of some of the nation’s most widely-used securities and corporate law casebooks. 

Panels: The conference will include five panels, covering Securities Law, Corporate Governance, White Collar and Corporate Crime, Class Actions, and Tender Offers and M&A. Conference participants will include U.S. and international academics, judges, regulators and practitioners, including alumni of Columbia Law School (where Coffee has been teaching since 1980).

Time and Location: The event will be held at Columbia Law School, 435 West 116 Street, New York, New York. Breakfast will begin at 8 a.m., with the conference scheduled to end at 5:45 p.m., followed by a reception for conference participants. The event is being organized by Jeff Gordon (Columbia Law School) and Chuck Whitehead (Cornell Law School) with the support of Columbia Law School.
 

Friday, March 22, 2024

8 to 9 a.m.  Continental Breakfast at the Law School

9 to 9:10 a.m.  Welcome (Gillian Lester, Dean and Lucy G. Moses Professor of Law, Columbia Law School)

9:10 to 9:30 a.m.  
Hon. Jed S. Rakoff, Senior Judge, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

9:30 to 10:45 a.m.  Corporate Crime/White Collar Crime (moderated by Sam Buell, Bernard M. Fishman Distinguished Professor of Law, Duke University School of Law)

10:45 to 11 a.m.  Coffee Break

11 a.m. to noon  Class Actions (moderated by Alexandra Lahav, Anthony W. and Lulu C. Wang Professor of Law, Cornell Law School)

12:15 to 1:15 p.m.  Lunch, with Remarks from Gary Gensler, Chair, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (Due to unforeseen circumstances, the lunchtime keynote conversation will now be virtual.)

1:30 to 2:45 p.m.   Gatekeepers/Securities Law (moderated by Charles Whitehead, Myron C. Taylor Alumni Professor of Business Law, Cornell Law School)

2:45 to 4 p.m.  Corporate Governance (moderated by Don Langevoort, Thomas Aquinas Reynolds Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center)

4 to 4:15 p.m.  Coffee Break

4:15 to 5:30 p.m.  M&A/Tender Offers (moderated by John Coates, John F. Cogan, Jr. Professor of Law and Economics and Deputy Dean, Harvard Law School)

5:30 to 5:45 p.m.  Remarks from John C. Coffee Jr., Adolf A. Berle Professor of Law and Director of the Center on Corporate Governance, Columbia Law School

6 p.m.  Reception Faculty House