For me, Harvey Goldschmid and Columbia are inextricably connected. I can’t think of one without the other. Harvey discovered his passion for learning as a student at the college and the law school. Only five years after graduating, Harvey returned to Columbia to join our faculty, serving for four and a half decades. When […]
Others in this tribute, more qualified to do so, will certainly comment on Harvey Goldschmid’s impeccable scholarship and outstanding public service. I will devote my space to our personal and professional relationship spanning forty-plus years in many endeavors, often connected to Columbia Law School. Harvey will be remembered as not only brilliant, but […]
The legal community suffered a great loss with the passing of Professor Harvey Goldschmid on February 12, 2015. A renowned legal scholar and policymaker, Professor Goldschmid greatly influenced modern securities law through his time at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), where over the span of his career he served as a Commissioner, General Counsel, […]
Much attention has recently been given to the current Securities and Exchange Commission reporting requirements for Schedule 13D, the beneficial ownership form many investors must file to report their equity holdings. However, relatively less focus has been given to the Schedule 13G, the short-form filing option, which requires less information and tends to attract less attention. The choice between the 13G or the 13D filing can come down...
Until the Supreme Court put an end to it in Shelby County v. Holder, section 5 of the Voting Rights Act was widely regarded as an effective, low-cost tool for blocking potentially discriminatory changes to election laws and administrative practices. The provision the Supreme Court left standing, section 2, is generally seen as expensive, cumbersome, and almost wholly ineffective at blocking changes before they take effect. This Article...
In 1970, Congress enacted the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to address concerns that inadequate safeguards existed to protect consumers in their interactions with credit reporting agencies. Government regulation of credit reporting is critical because the structure of the credit reporting industry does not adequately incentivize credit reporting agencies to maintain accuracy in consumers’ credit reports. Since the enactment of the FCRA, the...
International comity is one of the principal foundations of U.S. foreign relations law. The doctrines of American law that mediate the relationship between the U.S. legal system and those of other nations are nearly all manifestations of international comity—from the conflict of laws to the presumption against extraterritoriality; from the recognition of foreign judgments to the doctrines limiting adjudicative jurisdiction in international cases;...
The Schoolhouse Rock! cartoon version of the conventional legislative process is dead, if it was ever an accurate description in the first place. Major policy today is often the product of “unorthodox lawmaking” and “unorthodox rulemaking”—deviations from traditional process marked by frequent use of omnibus bills and multiple agency implementation; emergency statutes and regulations issued without prior comment; outsourcing...
The Supreme Court’s decision in Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. continues to obsess academics and courts alike. Despite all the attention, however, the “Chevron revolution” never quite happens. This decision, though seen as transformatively important, is honored in the breach, in constant danger of being abandoned, and the subject of perpetual confusion and uncertainty. This Essay seeks both...
Every year, fee awards enable millions of people to obtain access to justice and strengthen the deterrent effect of the law by motivating lawyers to handle class actions. But little research exists on why judges award the amounts they do or whether they size fee awards correctly. The process remains a black box. Through a detailed study of 431 securities class actions that settled in federal district courts from 2007 through 2012, this Article...