More Recognition for The Race to the Bottom

A Blog, Forensic Accounting Masters, came out with a ranking of the Top 50 Forensic Accounting Blogs.  The Ranking included The Race to the Bottom as #30 (under the category of Corporate Governance).  It is an eclectic and a high quality group of blogs.

The Top 25 Business Law Blogs of 2010: TheRacetotheBottom Included

Lexis-Nexis each year ranks the top 25 business law blogs.  This year the list included TheRacetotheBottom.  We are pleased to have made the list. 

Moreover, it is truly an illustrious group of business law blogs, including James McRitchie's Corp Gov Net, Broc Romanek's TheCorporateCounsel.net, Kevin LaCroix's D&O Diary,  Barbara Black's Securities Law Prof Blog, The Conglomerate, and the always thorough Delaware Corporate and Commercial Litigation Blog by Francis Pileggi.

Whatever the merits of the selection process, The Race to the Bottom can't complain about the company.

TheRacetotheBottom.org: Our New Look

As our loyal readers have noticed, the blog’s look has changed slightly in the past weeks.  We hope you enjoy the fresh, new style.

In an effort to promote the symbiotic relationship between blogs and social media, we have embraced certain tools to increase our readership and share the important issues and topics we address daily.  

You’ll notice to the right of the screen a new section called “Follow Us”:  

In it, there are links to all of our pages on popular social media and networking websites.  Please take a moment to follow the links below:

Facebook – Please ‘Like’ Us.

Twitter – Please ‘Follow’ Us. 

 LinkedIn – Please ‘Join’ Us. 

Home RSS – Please ‘Add’ Us. 

Thank you for your continued support.  

The LEXIS NEXIS Top 25 Law Blogs: Please Support RTTB by "Commenting"

As Managing Editor of The Race to the Bottom, I would like to thank all of you who read our work. The students and faculty involved with The Race to the Bottom spend a great deal of time on all aspects of the blog and appreciate being nominated to become one of the Top 25 Law Blogs by Lexis.

As mentioned in an earlier post, we would ask and encourage our readership to take a few minutes to visit the Lexis website and add a brief "comment" in support of RTTB.

Recognition such as this is a great way for us to continue to expand our readership and continue to produce high-quality content.

Thank you all again for your support.

Access and the Race to the Bottom

The Race to the Bottom submitted a comment on the access proposal, mostly to challenge the contention that access should be left to private ordering.  It has been cited several times in the final Release (a 451 page behemoth).  See notes 40, 443 & 677. 

University of Denver Sturm College of Law and the Need for Lateral Candidates in the Business/Commercial Law Area

The University of Denver Sturm College of Law anticipates filling several tenure-track and tenured faculty positions to begin in the 2011-2012 academic year.  We are seeking applications from experienced lateral candidates, with a strong preference for those who currently hold a tenure track or tenured position at another institution.  All applicants must hold a JD or equivalent.  Applicants should also have excellent academic records, demonstrated teaching ability and outstanding scholarship.  We have hiring needs in a wide-range of subjects across the curriculum, and are particularly interested in the areas of International/Comparative Law and Business/Commercial Law.  We seek to fill the International Law opening with a highly accomplished and experienced individual, who would be interested in assuming the directorship of the Sturm College of Law’s flagship program in International and Comparative Law in the near future.  The International Law opening includes the potential for a chaired position as well.

We also seek experienced applicants for a tenure-track position in our Student Law Office – to work in the asylum/immigration area.  We have a strong preference for applicants who hold a full-time academic position, but they need not be tenure track or tenured. The duties of tenured and tenure-track faculty teaching in our Student Law Office include collaboration with other faculty, direct supervision of second- and third-year students as they represent clients and participate in community projects, curriculum development, and classroom teaching.

We expect review of lateral candidates to be completed before the end of the summer; such candidates are strongly encouraged to submit their materials no later than July 25^th.  For more information and to apply for these positions, please visit the website.

Experienced candidates can submit questions and/or a second copy of application materials to Allison Rich, Assistant to Nancy Ehrenreich, Chair, Lateral Appointments Committee, University of Denver Sturm College of Law, 2255 East Evans Avenue, Denver, Colorado, 80208.

The University of Denver strongly dedicated to the pursuit of inclusive excellence and diversity.  See our Diversity Statement.   DU is an EEO/AA employer.

FinReg and Preventing Future Crises

For comments on CNBC assessing whether the financial regulatory bill will prevent another financial crisis, with Jay Brown, Corporate & Securities Law Professor and CNBC's Eamon Javers, go here. 

Congress and the Regulation of Derivative Trading

For a clip on CNBC of my remarks about the regulation of derivatives in the financial reform act, particularly the benefits of requiring banks to use separate subsidiaries, go here.

42nd Annual Rocky Mountain Securities Conference Today

The Race to the Bottom is covering the 42^nd Rocky Mountain Securities Conference happening today in Denver, Colorado.  We will provide thoughts throughout the day along with more detailed remarks about the issues over the course of the next few days.

 ________________________________________________________________________

The conference opened with comments by Commissioner Elisse Walter.  Of particular interest, Commissioner Walter expressed her personal feelings that the SEC needs to address the Municipal Securities Market.  The size and increased participation by retail investors in this area dictates that the SEC act to create a more leveled field where, as the Commissioner describes, investors receive second class treatment compared to other regulated areas.  This concern is being addressed in part by the creation of new specialty groups within the SEC, of which Municipal Securities is included. 

 ________________________________________________________________________

The defense counsel panel discussed changes within the SEC including the current focus of the enforcement division and new developments with Cooperation Agreements, which we will detail at length in a later post.  As for the Enforcement Division’s focus, the panel noted the staff’s concentration on the issues which received national attention during the financial meltdown.  In varying degrees, the panelists worried about the Commission’s preoccupation with finding the next Bernie Maddoff which seems to come at the expense of investigating complex accounting frauds.  The concern is that the SEC will loose its expertise in this area.

42nd Annual Rocky Mountain Securities Conference Tomorrow

This blog will cover tomorrow’s Rocky Mountain Securities Conference in Denver, Colorado.  Among the other excellent presentations, the event showcases Commissioner Elisse Walter in the morning.  She will discuss the SEC’s future and efforts to deal with further market regulation and investor protection.  Our very own Professor Jay Brown will respond to Commissioner Walter’s remarks. 

The conference also features former Commissioner Harvey Pitt alongside current and former SEC Directors George Curtis, Robert Davenport, Carlo di Florio, Randall Fons, Donald Hoerl, Henry Hu, Daniel F. Shea, and Stanley J. Sporkin.  The remaining members of the faculty include FINRA Vice Chairman Stephen Luparello, Deputy and Associate Regional Directors of various SEC divisions, and many distinguished private practitioners.

Enforcement and coping with an enforcement environment is a topic of particular interest to this blogger (as a former SEC intern).  Panelists will detail the new structure of the SEC’s Enforcement Branch, which recently created specialized groups focusing in five different areas and eliminated the position of Branch Chief.  Seeing if these changes have muddled or streamlined things within the Enforcement Division is a very important issue, especially given the heightened enforcement environment.

42nd Annual Rocky Mountain Securities Conference

This Friday, May 7, 2010, Denver will host the 42nd Annual Rocky Mountain Securities Conference.  The Race to the Bottom covered this conference in 2008 and 2009.  We will blog the event on May 7th and provide more detailed coverage in the following days.  This conference looks very exciting and we thank the Colorado Bar Association for allowing us to attend and blog about the issues and presenters.

The Race to the Bottom Covers the ABA Business Law Section Spring Meeting

The American Bar Association Business Law Section will host its Spring Meeting in Denver, Colorado starting today.  Since this blog calls Denver home, the student contributors will post on the program throughout the week and weekend.  We welcome the Business Law Section and thank it for giving the Race to the Bottom access to this unique event.

Jay Brown, Jon Macey and Hedge Fund Compensation on CNBC

A CNBC discussion on whether hedge fund salaries are justified, with Jonathan Macey, Yale University and Jay Brown, University of Denver Sturm College of Law.

The Race to the Bottom Presents: Up-the-Ladder Reporting Rules under Section 307 of Sarbanes Oxley

One of the many changes wrought by SOX was the imposition of reporting obligations on securities lawyers when they learn facts that suggest a possible violation of the securities laws and fiduciary obligations.  Included in Section 307 of SOX and codified under 17 CFR 205 by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the requirements have been in place since 2003.

TheRacetotheBottom, a law blog with a student staff at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law,  started in part to explore issues raised by SOX.  With that in mind, it is time to review these rules and determine whether the reporting obligations have worked.  As a result, the Blog is holding a free CLE that will explore these rules and how they were handled by outside and inside counsel.  The event (we have applied for 2 ethics credits) will be on April 13 from 4-6pm at Holland & Hart at 555 Seventeenth Street, Suite 3200, Denver, CO.  There will be no charge for participation.

Titled Up-the-Ladder Reporting Rules under Section 307 of Sarbanes Oxley: The practical realities of reporting material violations and the role of the Qualified Legal Compliance Committee, speakers will include:  Rich Baer, Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel, Qwest Communications; Frederick Baumann, Partner, Rothgerber Johnson & Lyons; Holly Stein Sollod, Partner, Holland & Hart; Theodore Banks, Of Counsel, Schoeman, Updike & Kaufman and former counsel at Kraft Inc.; and Kevin O’Brien, Associate Professor, Daniels College of Business, University of Denver.  

To attend, please RSVP to RacetotheBottomEditors@gmail.com

Richard Koppes - Corporate Governance Expert

University of Denver - Daniels School of Business presents:

Richard Koppes - Of Counsel, Jones Day law firm in San Francisco

Tuesday February 26, 2008 - 4:00 - 6:00 PM (free and open to the public)

Named one of the nation’s top 100 most influential lawyers by the National Law Journal, Richard is one of the nation’s leaders in corporate governance. He will share with the Voices of Experience audience his success at the once-beleaguered California Public Employees’ Retirement System. 

More information on Richard Koppes

Register for this event