Faculty in the News: June 16 - June 30, 2017
Columbia Law School Clip Report, June 16–30, 2017
Bloomberg—June 16, 2017
Jury Offers Split Verdict in Nomura Case (Audio)
John Coffee, a professor at Columbia Law School, and Robert Hockett a professor at Cornell Law School, discuss why a Connecticut jury offered a split verdict for three former Nomura Holdings traders who were accused of conspiring to lie to clients about mortgage bond prices.
Mining Connection—June 16, 2017
Exxon Says Climate Crusade by New York AG is a Conspiracy Theory
Merritt Fox, a professor of law at Columbia Law School, for instance, noted in 2016 that it’s inappropriate to use laws such as the Martin Act to target the company for potential fraud.
Vice—June 16, 2017
Amazon’s Purchase of Whole Food Could have Massive Implications for Our Food System
Professor Timothy Wu of Columbia Law School, however, believes this merger does present real antitrust issues. "Proposed Amazon acquisition of Wholefoods [sic] makes for a more interesting antitrust question than current doctrine realizes… I had a draft paper on super-monopoly—one firm holding multiple monopolies, which is what Amazon-Wholefoods is relevant to."
New Delhi Times—June 16, 2017
Former Chief Justice of India P. N. Bhagwati, passes away at 95
He is survived by his wife Prabhavati Bhagwati and three daughters. He is also the brother of reputed economist Jagdish Bhagwati.
Bloomberg—June 16, 2017
Trump Said Likely to Name Hester Peirce as SEC Commissioner
Candidates that have been discussed for the Democratic spot include Robert Jackson, a Columbia University law professor, and Bharat Ramamurti, an aide to Senator Elizabeth Warren, the people said.
Bloomberg—June 19, 2017
Bloomberg Law Brief: Split Verdict in Nomura Trial (Audio)
John Coffee, a professor at Columbia Law School, discusses a split verdict in the trial of three former Nomura Holdings traders, who are accused of conspiring to lie to clients about mortgage-bond prices. He speaks with June Grasso on Bloomberg Radio’s "Bloomberg Law."
The New York Post—June 19, 2017
Elizabeth Warren asks the Fed to clear out Wells Fargo’s board
“I don’t know of a case when the Fed has moved in this wholesale a fashion to remove directors, and I don’t speculate they would,” John Coffey [sic], a professor of corporate governance at Columbia Law School, told The Post.
The New York Times—June 20, 2017
Exxon Mobil Lends Its Support to a Carbon Tax Proposal
Michael B. Gerrard, the director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School and an expert on climate litigation, said there had been four suits brought against energy companies over climate change, including one brought by the eroding Arctic coastal town of Kivalina, Alaska.
First Things—June 20, 2017
Prejudice and the Blaine Amendments, by Philip Hamburger
Not merely for Trinity Lutheran but for all Americans, the question is whether the Supreme Court will overcome its longstanding indifference to the layers of religious prejudice in the Blaine Amendments.
Talking Points Memo—June 21, 2017
Have The Feds Really Flipped Michael Flynn?
As Philip Bobbitt, director for the Center for National Security at Columbia Law School, points out, Flynn “could be the one person” who could implicate Trump and Pence in the Russia investigation.
Governing—June 21, 2017
Can States and Cities Really Uphold the Paris Climate Deal?
Market forces will keep moving states away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy, decreasing emissions in places that aren’t even trying, says Columbia University's [Michael] Gerrard.
Legal News—June 22, 2017
ABA book offers overview of bank examinations privilege and its role in bank supervision
To help lawyers navigate the complex area of banking law, the American Bar Association Business Law Section has published “The Bank Examination Privilege: When Litigants Demand Confidentiality Reports.” “The Bank Examination Privilege” is co-written by Eric Epstein, David A. Scheffel and Nicholas A.J. Vlietstra.
Note: Eric Epstein is a lecturer in law.
NBC News—June 22, 2017
Wisconsin Lawmakers Push Bill That Would Expel Campus Hecklers
The policy evokes legal implications that may not hold up in court, said Katherine Franke, a professor at Columbia University School of Law. “This bill clearly violates the First Amendment as its definition is way too broad and way too vague by Constitutional grounds," she said. "It clearly risks punishing speech that would otherwise be protected by the First Amendment."
Forbes—June 23, 2017
Was Trump Tricked Into Pulling Out Of The Paris Agreement?
Michael Burger, the Executive Director of Columbia Law School’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, and one of the lead authors of a paper arguing that the EPA should use Section 115 to adopt climate regulations, had this to say about the Senators’ letter.
Long Island Pulse—June 26, 2017
Two Steps Back
“A real concern here is that there are very well-funded faith-based organizations that have made it their mission to strip LGBT people of their basic rights,” said Suzanne Goldberg, professor at Columbia Law School and head of its Center of Gender and Sexuality Law.
CNBC—June 26, 2017
Squawk Box: Professor John Coffee (Video)
John Coffee, Columbia Law School professor, weighs in on Martin Shkreli's fraud trial and its impact on the pharmaceutical industry.
Columbia Magazine—June 26, 2017
Campus Sustainability Plan Details Emissions Targets
“As an institution engaged in education and research on environmental protection, it is important that we practice what we preach and apply what we learn,” says Michael Gerrard ’72CC, an environmental-law professor who helped to develop the plan.
Los Angeles Times—June 26, 2017
'Pharma Bro' defies advice to keep quiet before fraud trial
Columbia law professor John Coffee compared the situation to President Trump's unruly tweeting habits. “A lawyer can caution him,” he said. “But just like Trump, he doesn't have to listen.”
Yelp—June 27, 2017
How Google’s Local Search Results Harm Consumers and Why the EU Acted
With Columbia Law School Professor Tim Wu and Harvard Business School Economist Michael Luca, Yelp’s Data Science Team published a research paper that reexamined whether Google has been degrading search results and the impact this practice has on consumers.
Wales Online—June 27, 2017
The former head of MI6 is coming to Swansea for a big international conference on terrorists and social media.
Among the guest speakers are Sir John Scarlett, former chief of the British Secret Intelligence Service, leading constitutional theorist Professor Philip Bobbitt, and Professor Bruce Hoffman, who was a member of the independent commission which reviewed the FBI’s Post-9/11 response to terrorism and radicalisation.
City & State NY—June 27, 2017
Bringing the Resistance to the Web
At the Personal Democracy Forum conference, Tim Wu, the former candidate for lieutenant governor and adviser to state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, called on attendees to participate in a day of activism on July 12 to defend net neutrality, the now widely used term he coined in 2002 for the concept that providers should treat all internet traffic equally.
Buzzfeed—June 27, 2017
The EPA Just Announced That It Plans To Repeal The Clean Water Rule
“It means fewer waters are going to enjoy federal regulatory protection and it will be easier to dump pollutants into them,” Michael Gerrard, director of Columbia University’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, told BuzzFeed News.
Religion Dispatches—June 27, 2017
What’s So Troubling About Funding a Playground? How Trinity Lutheran Undermines the First Amendment by Elizabeth Reiner Platt
In Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer the Court held that the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment requires governments to provide taxpayer funds to churches. The majority opinion ignores the long history of and important justifications for prohibiting state subsidization of houses of worship.
Note: Elizabeth Platt directs the Public Rights/Private Conscience Project at the Center for Gender and Sexuality Law.
Reuters—June 28, 2017
Columbia professor Jackson leads field for SEC job
Columbia University law professor Robert Jackson is a leading contender for one of the two commissioner vacancies on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, according to people familiar with the matter.
Politico—June 28, 2017
Tillerson blows up at top White House aide
“It’s very common that there would be some tensions and some tussles between the White House and departments or agencies about senior personnel decisions,” said Matthew Waxman, a senior official in the State Department and National Security Council under President George W. Bush. “It’s just very abnormal that these issues wouldn’t be worked out more quickly.”
Rolling Stone—June 29, 2017
The Hacker Who Cared Too Much
Tim Wu, a Columbia Law School professor and former director of the Poliak Center for the First Amendment at the Columbia Journalism School, has described the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act as the "most outrageous criminal law you've never heard of."
Real Clear Markets—June 29, 2017
Thank Goodness Apple's iPhone Violated 'Net Neutrality' in 2007
Columbia law professor Tim Wu denounced the iPhone as “anticompetitive.” Nested exclusively with AT&T and lurking in a “walled garden,” the iPhone rollout violated “network neutrality,” a term coined by Mr. Wu to describe his preferred platform for fixed and wireless communications.
NBC News—June 29, 2017
Shkreli’s Trial Not On Drug Prices, But This ‘Ponzi-Like’ Scheme
Columbia Law Professor John Coffee said that Shkreli’s case is a "variant on the classic Ponzi scheme." Instead of using money from a single fund to pay investors back, said Coffee, he's accused of using money from his pharma company to pay back his hedge fund investors.
Balkinization—June 29, 2017
Some Legal Realism About Legal Theory by David Pozen and Jeremy Kessler
The University of Chicago Law Review has published a response by Charles Barzun to our article Working Themselves Impure: A Life Cycle Theory of Legal Theories. We wish to highlight a few points of agreement and disagreement, because we think they speak to an important divide in contemporary legal theory.
Weather.com—June 29, 2017
We Have 3 Years to Save the Planet From Climate Disaster, Experts Warn
Michael Gerrard, director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University, told weather.com the experts' analysis "highlights the importance of accelerating progress on decarbonising the world's economy."
Bloomberg—June 30, 2017
A QUICK CUP OF “COFFEE”—THE FINANCIAL CHOICE ACT AND THE FUTURE OF SEC ENFORCEMENT
John C. Coffee, Jr., a Columbia University law professor, described the impact of the Financial CHOICE Act as passed by the House on the future of SEC enforcement actions as a “mixed bag” in remarks last week before the SEC Investor Advisory Committee.
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This report shares mentions of Law School faculty cited in print, broadcast, and online news outlets. It is not intended to be inclusive of every media mention. Faculty members who are featured in the media are encouraged to send their clips to [email protected] for possible inclusion in our Clip Report. Faculty members seeking assistance in placing an op-ed, promoting scholarship, facilitating interviews, event coverage, or media training, are encouraged to email us at [email protected] or call us at 212-854-2650
Posted July 10, 2017