Business Law Prof Blog

Call for Papers - American Business Law Journal Special Issue on Rescuing Organizations in Financial Distress

Dear BLPB Readers:

"The American Business Law Journal (ABLJ) is seeking manuscripts for a special issue on “Rescuing Organizations in Financial Distress.”

Organizations around the globe, both private businesses and public entities, are currently experiencing extraordinary financial pressure and distress. A panoply of internal and external causal factors are contributing to the financial distress. While some organizations can overcome their financial predicament through continued operations, others require legal mechanisms to facilitate a path to rescue. The failure of a private business or the collapse of a public organization has a cascading impact on a host of stakeholders and interests, leading to significant detrimental outcomes well beyond the organization in financial distress. The special issue explores what businesses, regulators, lawmakers, and attorneys should do to provide effective rescue regimes and tools for organizations in financial distress."

The deadline for submissions is February 3, 2025.  The complete call for papers is here:  Download Updated ABLJ 2025 Special Issue Call for Papers - Sept 2024.

American Business Law Journal Currently Accepting Submissions

Dear BLPB Readers:

"The American Business Law Journal (ABLJ) is currently accepting submissions for Volume 62 (2025).  

The ABLJ is a faculty-edited, double blind peer-reviewed journal, continuously published since 1963. The journal is ranked is ranked #2 in the 2023 Washington & Lee Law Journal Rankings for journals in Business, Corporations and Securities Law. It is ranked as an “A” journal by the Australian Business Deans Council.

Our mission is to publish only top quality law review articles and essays that make a scholarly contribution to all areas of law that impact business theory and practice, either U.S. or comparative in scope. We search for those articles that articulate a novel research question and make a meaningful contribution directly relevant to scholars and practitioners of business law. The blind peer-review process means legal scholars well-versed in the relevant specialty area have determined selected articles are original, thorough, important, and timely, and peer editors provide expert feedback and support throughout the editorial process. 

The ABLJ is published quarterly. Articles should be between 16,000 and 20,000 words (inclusive of footnotes). Essays should be between 7,000 and 10,000 words (inclusive of footnotes). 

 

Authors may submit their manuscripts and CVs/resumes through Scholastica or directly via email to Ruth Jebe, Managing Editor at [email protected]. 

 

For more information on submissions, please review Author Guidelines information on the ABLJ Wiley website."

Open Faculty Positions - Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles

Dear BLPB Readers:

"SOUTHWESTERN LAW SCHOOL in Los Angeles invites applications for the following positions:

• Multiple full-time entry-level and lateral tenure/tenure-track positions. Our primary curricular needs include Business Associations, Evidence, and Property. When selecting candidates to interview, we also will consider whether they might also contribute in the following areas: Administrative Law, Contracts, Copyright, Business/Corporate/Entrepreneurship electives; Cyberlaw/Technology/Privacy, Entertainment Law, Family Law, International Business Transactions, Professional Responsibility, and Wills & Trusts.

•  Multiple full-time entry-level or experienced Associate Professors of Academic Success and Bar Preparation

•  Multiple full-time entry-level or experienced Associate Professors or Professors of Legal Analysis, Writing, and Skills.

Attached are the ads for each position.

Founded in 1911, Southwestern is an ABA-accredited, independent law school located in the center of Los Angeles. Our mission includes educating lawyers ready to serve clients, the profession, and our society with excellence, empowering students to reach their potential, cultivating inclusion and belonging, and shaping the law and public policy through teaching, scholarship, and service.

To apply, please send your CV, professional references, research agenda, and preferred areas of teaching via email to [email protected] and put "Faculty Application" in the email subject line. Review of applications will begin in mid-August. Initial interviews will be held via Zoom, and callback interviews will be held in person."

Ads for each position are below:

Doctrinal (Tenure-track) Faculty position: Download Doctrinal (Tenure-Track) Faculty Position Ad (1)

Legal Writing (LAWS) Faculty position: Download Legal Writing (LAWS) Faculty Position Ad

Academic Success and Bar Programs Faculty position: Download Academic Success and Bar Programs Faculty Position Ad

 

Call for Papers - American University Business Law Review

Dear BLPB Readers:

“The American University Business Law Review (AUBLR) is placing a call for submissions of original legal articles and scholarly commentaries for its forthcoming issues.  As a distinguished publication committed to advancing scholarship in business law, AUBLR is dedicated to publishing high-quality and impactful pieces that address the complex challenges facing business today.  AUBLR is the first law review in Washington, D.C. dedicated solely to business issues and is ranked #15 in Business, Corporations, and Securities Law journals by Washington and Lee Law Journal Rankings.

We welcome submissions from academics, practitioners, and American University Law students, and we review submissions for possible publication on a rolling basis.  Submitting your work to AUBLR provides an excellent opportunity to contribute to the academic discourse in business law and to showcase your expertise to a wide audience. If you have pieces ready for submission or if you would like more information about our submission guidelines, please reach out to Zach Schumacher, AUBLR’s Senior Articles Editor at [email protected].  Additionally, you can find more details about AUBLR on our website: https://aublr.org.”

Open Tenure-track Faculty Position - Wharton Legal Studies and Business Ethics Department

Dear BLPB Readers:

"The Legal Studies and Business Ethics Department of the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, is seeking applicants for a full-time, tenure-track faculty position. We welcome candidates working in any business-relevant area of law and/or ethics, but we are particularly interested in the following areas:

• Technology / artificial intelligence
• Corporate law / governance / purpose / responsibility
• Law and ethics of markets (antitrust / bankruptcy / consumer law)
• Inequality and discrimination
• Bioethics / health law
• Energy / environment / climate

The appointment is expected to begin July 1, 2025. Information about the Legal Studies and Business Ethics Department and the research expertise of its current faculty may be found at: https://lgst.wharton.upenn.edu."

The complete job posting is here.

Call for Papers - Journal of Financial Markets Infrastructures

Dear BLPB Readers:

I'm excited to share a Call for Papers from the Journal of Financial Markets Infrastructures, where I am an Associate Editor.  Here is a brief description of the Journal from its website:

"The economic and technological landscape of financial market infrastructures (FMIs) is rapidly evolving and changing how we conduct transactions globally. Efforts to renew and strengthen payment, clearing and settlement systems have been undertaken internationally and the role of new technologies, including digital money, CBDCs, blockchains and smart contracts, is being continuously reassessed.

The Journal of Financial Market Infrastructures was the first journal to specialize in publishing peer-reviewed research in FMIs. Today, over a decade after its first publication, the journal continues to offer its readers a selection of the best ideas, developments and analysis in this dynamic and exciting sector of the economy."

The call for papers is here: Download JFMI Call for Papers

This Friday - SMU Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources Colloquium

I'm delighted to share that I'll be presenting this Friday at the SMU Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources Colloquium.  Anyone interested in attending can register here.  A description of the event is below.  I'm excited to be working on my third (one and two) article with SMU energy law Professor James W. Coleman. It's at the intersection of energy and financial regulation, and I look forward to sharing more about it with readers soon!  I'm particularly grateful to co-blogger Joan Heminway and the University of Tennessee Law School for hosting the Connecting the Threads CLE series, the forum in which we first shared our initial papers! 

Description

"The SMU Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources Colloquium is an annual program, in its second year, which focuses on the interdisciplinary connections between the fields of energy, environment, and natural resources (“EENR”). It promises to be a pivotal gathering for academics, students, practitioners, and other stakeholders in the fields of law, science, engineering, business, and the humanities. The conference will delve into crucial topics like environmental justice initiatives, natural resource management using law and markets, carbon management, and interdisciplinary solutions to environmental challenges, featuring a mix of talks, panel discussions, and followed by graduate student presentations."

 

 

  

Open Full-Time Lecturer Position - Texas State University

Dear BLPB Readers:

"The Department of Finance and Economics at Texas State University is seeking a full-time lecturer to start in the Fall semester 2024. A JD from an ABA-accredited law school is required. Job duties include teaching onsite sections of Legal Environment of Business (and perhaps other classes as needed) as well as engaging in department, college, and university service. The contracts are annual but renewable. Because the position is non-tenure-track, there is no search committee; accordingly, if you are interested in the position or want to know more, you can contact Jeff Todd ([email protected]) directly."

American Business Law Journal Accepting Editorial Board Applications

Dear BLPB Readers:

"The American Business Law Journal invites ALSB members who are interested in serving on the Editorial Board of the ABLJ to apply for the position of Articles Editor.

The ABLJ is widely regarded, nationally and internationally, as a premier peer-reviewed journal. Serving as an Articles Editor provides an opportunity to serve the Academy of Legal Studies in Business and broader academic discipline at the highest levels of service. 

The incoming Articles Editor will begin to serve on the Board in August 2024. Board members commit to serve for three years: two years as Articles Editor and one year as Senior Articles Editor. After that, Articles Editors have the option of continuing to serve two more years—one as Managing Editor and another as Editor-in-Chief. 

Articles Editors supervise the review of articles that have been submitted to the ABLJ to determine which manuscripts to recommend for publication. If a manuscript is accepted, the Articles Editor is responsible for working with the author to oversee changes in both style and substance. If a manuscript is believed to be publishable but in need of further work, the Articles Editor outlines specific revisions and further lines of research that the author should pursue. The Articles Editor’s recommendations for works-in-process are perhaps the most important and creative aspect of the job because they provide the guidance necessary for works to blossom into publishable manuscripts.  

An applicant for the position of Articles Editor should have an established track record of publications. We prefer applicants who have previously published with the ABLJ and have familiarity with our peer review process. However, we also welcome applicants, including international applicants, who have published with high quality law journals and/or peer reviewed law journals that adhere to the Harvard Bluebook style.  Experience serving as a Reviewer for the ABLJ or as a Staff Editor is helpful. 

The ABLJ is committed to ensuring that financial resources, including the support of a research assistant, are not an obstacle to service on the Board. 

Applicants are encouraged to contact us to learn more about the position and financial assistance that may be available.

Please send a resume and letter of interest to Inara Scott, ABLJ Editor-in-Chief, at [email protected] by May 31, 2024, for full consideration."

Open Visiting Professor Position(s) at the University of Oklahoma College of Law for Spring 2025

Dear BLPB Readers:

"University of Oklahoma College of Law is pleased to announce that it is currently seeking
applicants for visiting professor position(s) for Spring 2025 of the upcoming academic year. The
law school has a number of curricular needs, but is especially interested in candidates
specializing in bankruptcy, secured transactions, consumer law and finance, and payment
systems."

The complete announcement is here: Download Spring 2025 Visiting Position University of Oklahoma College of Law

Thursday April 4 - ABA Banking Law Committee's New Members Subcommittee Program on the Business of Banking and Banking Law Careers

Dear BLPB Readers:

On April 4, 2024, at 11:30am EST, the American Bar Association's Banking Law Committee's New Members Subcommittee will host "A 30-minute in-person and zoom meeting of the Banking Law Committee’s New Members Subcommittee" to discuss the business of banking and careers in banking law.  It's a free program for ABA members and ABA membership is free for law students!  Here is a flyer with complete details: Download Promo for April 4 ABA session on banking law and careers 

March 19 - Seminar on The Evolution of Financial Markets: Digital Money and Atomic Settlement

Dear BLPB Readers,

I wanted to share that the Journal of Financial Market Infrastructures (where I'm an Associate Editor), in addition to the Bank for International Settlements Innovation Hub, and Quinan & Associates will host a seminar, The Evolution of Financial Markets: Digital Money and Atomic Settlement, on March 19th.  It will be on the early side for those in the U.S., but it looks really interesting!  A pdf flyer of the event is below.  

Download Joint-Seminar-Agenda-Flyer

Northwestern Law School Workshops on Research Design for Causal Inference

Dear BLPB Readers:

For those of you who might be interested in strengthening your knowledge of empirical methods, Northwestern Law School is offering two summer workshops on Research Design for Causal Inference.  An overview of the main workshop and its target audience is below.  The complete details of the main and advanced workshops are here.

"Main Workshop Overview

We will cover the design of true randomized experiments and contrast them to natural or quasi experiments and to pure observational studies, where part of the sample is treated, the remainder is a control group, but the researcher controls neither which units are treated vs. control, nor administration of the treatment. We will assess the causal inferences one can draw from specific "causal" research designs, threats to valid causal inference, and research designs that can mitigate those threats.

Most empirical methods courses survey a variety of methods. We will begin instead with the goal of causal inference, and how to design a research plan to come closer to that goal, using messy, real-world datasets with limited sample sizes. The methods are often adapted to a particular study.

Target Audience

Quantitative empirical researchers (faculty and graduate students) in social science, including law, political science, economics, many business-school areas (finance, accounting, management, marketing, etc.), medicine, sociology, education, psychology, etc. –  anywhere that causal inference is important.

We will assume knowledge, at the level of an upper-level undergraduate econometrics or similar course, of multivariate regression, including OLS, logit, and probit; basic probability and statistics including confidence intervals, t-statistics, and standard errors; and some understanding of instrumental variables. This course should be suitable both for researchers with recent PhD-level training in econometrics and for empirical scholars with reasonable but more limited training."

Professors Baker and Coleman on Metals Derivatives Markets and the Energy Transition

My coauthor, SMU Law Professor James W. Coleman, recently posted a draft of our article, Metals Derivatives Markets and the Energy Transition, on SSRN.  It's forthcoming in Transactions: The Tennessee Journal of Business Law, and was written in connection with Business Transactions: Connecting the Threads VII, the BLPB-related conference at the University of Tennessee Law School.  I had a wonderful time at the event, which has become one of my yearly favorites, and am truly grateful for UT Law School's consistently outstanding hospitality! 

Here's the abstract of our article:

Despite their escalating importance, thus far, there has been minimal legal scholarship on metals derivatives markets. Given the key role of these markets in the transition to a clean energy future, increased focus on them is imperative. Hence, it is not surprising that the agendas for the last four meetings of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Energy and Environmental Markets Advisory Committee each dedicated a significant portion of the meeting to metals derivatives markets and their role in the transition to a clean energy future.

Fundamentally, the United States and the world are moving from their long-term dependence on the fossil fuels that built the modern world, to dependence on new commodities such as copper and lithium. Coal and then natural gas made the modern economy possible by providing heat, power, and electricity to growing industries and populations in the world’s growing urban centers. Then oil made globalization possible by powering international sea and air travel as well as overland vehicles. As electric vehicles increasingly displace fossil fuel vehicles and renewable energy sources increasingly replace fuels in heating and industry, the economic and geopolitical stakes of metals markets will grow higher and higher. The criticality of metals derivatives markets, such as the dysfunctional market for nickel, will also escalate as governments, businesses, and others seek to hedge risks related to the increasing global dependency on metals.

Our article makes at least two contributions. First, it expands the minimal analysis of metals derivatives markets in the legal scholarship. Indeed, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first law review article to focus primarily on these markets. Second, it explores the role of metals derivatives in preparing for the transition to a clean energy future. We provide a brief overview of metals derivatives, including new markets in development, and their regulation in Parts I and II, respectively. In Part III, we explore the central role of metals derivatives markets in securing a clean energy future.  

Open Visiting Faculty Positions - Howard University School of Law

Dear BLPB Readers:

"HOWARD UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW invites applications for two visiting faculty
positions during the 2024-2025 academic year. Howard University, a culturally
diverse, comprehensive, research intensive and historically Black private university,
provides an educational experience of exceptional quality at the undergraduate,
graduate, and professional levels to students of high academic standing and
potential.

Position 1 – We are hiring a visiting law professor for a full-year podium visit. This
professor will teach one section of our first-year contracts course, which is a full
year course. In addition to the contracts course, we are open to a wide range of
other offerings in both semesters with a particular interest in business courses and
upper level writing seminars.

Position 2 – We are hiring a visiting law professor for a Fall 2024 podium visit. This
professor will teach one section of our fall first-year civil procedure course. In
addition to the civil procedure course, we are open to a wide range of other
offerings in the fall semester with a particular interest in business courses and
upper level writing seminars."

The complete announcement about these positions is here: Download HUSL Visiting Faculty Announcement - AALS 01.18.24[61]

Teaching and Supporting Small Business and Innovation

As you may know or recall, I am teaching an advanced business law course that leverages the characters and transactions featured in HBO Max's Succession.  I reported on the course here back in November. The inspiration for the course came in part from the work some of us did to produce a series of educational sessions as the Waystar Royco School of Law last year.  I posted on that lecture series here on the BLPB, too, including here.

From that series of Zoomcasts, a publication opportunity, some press inquiries, and a few new friendships followed, as well as the idea for my Succession course.  We are only a few classes in so far, but we had the pleasure of hosting friend-of-the-BLPB Ben Means in class today.  As you may know, Ben directs South Carolina's innovative Family and Small Business Program.  He also participated int he Waystar Royco School of Law (ad)venture and was a super guest.  We covered a lot of ground on family businesses, big and small, in our 75 minutes together this morning.  Thank you, Ben.

This class meeting and my Securities Regulation teaching today had me thinking about small businesses and innovation.  That reminded me that I keep forgetting to blog about a nifty small business that I was introduced to last year.  The business is The Grain Free Baker.  I learned about the business from one of my fellow BLPB editors, Colleen Baker.  It is her sister's business.  As a cook, a foodie, and a business lawyer supportive of entrepreneurship, it was fun to learn about the business--founded by a Baker who is a baker!  You can read about it here. 

It is the need to bring money into businesses like this that helps drive me to teach a new generation of law students to be corporate finance lawyers.  It is essential that lawyers understand, I argued earlier today, what a security is and what the legal implications of offering and selling securities are if they are to use their law degrees to support start-ups and small businesses.  Although many entrepreneurs will seek out commercial loans to finance their businesses, corporate finance transactions are desired or needed by others.

I hope those of you who are instructors also can find passion projects that inspire your teaching.  They can be so helpful in motivating instruction at downtimes during the semester.  That has been true for me.  And what's not to like about financing businesses that produce amazing products like the mix that made these cookies?!

Some American Bar Association Opportunities for Law Students

Dear BLPB Readers:

I wanted to help spread the word about various ways in which law students can begin connecting with the American Bar Association (ABA) and encourage interested readers – especially the professors! – to also assist in getting the word out! 

First, law students can join the ABA for FREE!  They can find out more here.  

Second, the annual Banking Law Committee meeting will be in Washington D.C. on January 18-20, 2024.  This year, it’s an in-person only event (other meetings this year will offer virtual options).  Law students can attend this and other meetings for FREE (to do so, a student must become a member of the ABA and the Business Law Section)! 

Of course, the ABA has many committees in addition to the one on banking, including consumer financial services, bankruptcy, corporate governance, antitrust etc. and resources and opportunities for students interested in a variety of professional legal paths (transactional, litigation, regulatory etc.).

Third, the Banking Law Committee will also have full day meetings at two ABA conferences later in 2024 (Orlando, April 4-6 and San Diego, September 12-14).  Both meetings will have in-person and online options.  Additionally, the April meeting (and perhaps the September one too!) will have a one-hour “New Members Subcommittee Session,” which could be a helpful way for law students to begin connecting with the ABA!    

Call for Conference Participation - MALSB Annual Conference in Chicago (April 2024)

Dear BLPB Readers:

"The Midwest Academy of Legal Studies in Business (MALSB) Annual Conference is held in
conjunction with the MBAA International Conference. MBAA International draws hundreds of
academics from business-related fields such as accounting, business/society/government, economics,
entrepreneurship, finance, health administration, information systems, international business,
management, and marketing. The MALSB has its own program track on Legal Studies and attendees
may take advantage of the multidisciplinary nature of this international conference and attend sessions
held by the other program tracks.

Presentations in 2024 will have the option of in person or live online delivery. Tentatively MALSB paper
and panel in person/live online presentations are scheduled to begin Thursday morning (April 11, 2024)
and conclude Friday afternoon (April 12, 2024). If registration numbers require additional sessions, they
will be held Wednesday afternoon (April 10, 2024)."

Note that the registration/submission deadline is January 15, 2024.  The complete call for conference participation is here. Download Malsb_call_for_participation_2024

Open Tenure-Track Assistant Professor of Law Position - Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo

Dear BLPB Readers:

"The Accounting Area in the Orfalea College of Business at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, is seeking to fill a full-time/academic year tenure-track position in business law as part of the university’s year-round operations initiative with a contemplated appointment in summer of 2024.

Applicants must have the ability to work with diverse students. Demonstrated experience and commitment to student-centered learning and teaching, as well as the ability to collaboratively work in multidisciplinary settings is required. Demonstrated proficiency in written and oral use of the English language is required.

Primary duties and responsibilities are to: (A) teach undergraduate and graduate business law courses; (B) maintain an active portfolio of research in business law accompanied with publication in high quality law journals and other approved peer reviewed publications; and (C) perform extensive area, college, and university service duties (e.g., curriculum committee, academic senate, etc.)."

The complete job posting is here.

Call for Papers - 2024 Wharton Financial Regulation Conference

Dear BLPB Readers:

"The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania will host its annual Wharton Financial
Regulation Conference on April 5, 2024. A conference dinner will be held the night before, on
April 4, 2024.

We issue a call for papers to scholars from any discipline—law, economics, political science,
history, business, and beyond—to submit papers on the following topics related to financial
regulation:

• Digital assets and the payments system
• Regional and community banking (including banking market structure)
• Central banking, monetary and fiscal policy
• Bank regulators & constitutional governance

To submit a paper, please include an unpublished manuscript not exceeding 25,000 words and a
CV to conference organizer Christina Skinner ([email protected]) by February 1,
2024. Selected presenters will be notified by email by February 15, 2024."

A pdf of this call for papers is Download 2024 Wharton FinReg Call for Papers.