Guest Blogger: Michael Simkovic
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Cass Sunstein reviews books describing the mass appeal of ultra-nationalism (Michael Simkovic)
In the NY Review of Books (recently republished online): Nazism was so horrifying and so barbaric that for many people in nations where authoritarianism is now achieving a foothold, it is hard to see parallels between Hitler’s regime and their own governments. Many accounts of the Nazi period depict a barely imaginable series of events,…
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The Supreme Court is about to become more conservative (Michael Simkovic)
With the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Republican control of the White House and Senate, the Supreme Court will likely soon become more conservative. Given Republicans' penchant for increasing the value of appointments by choosing relatively young appointees, the court's conservative shift is likely to persist for decades unless Democrats achieve sufficient electoral…
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Bloomberg: Demand for Corporate Bankruptcy lawyers surges (Michael Simkovic)
See here. Large U.S. law firms are scrambling to address a ballooning need for bankruptcy and corporate restructuring expertise. The Covid-19 pandemic has unleashed an unprecedented severity and speed of corporate distress, as Chapter 11 filings pile up and fire-sale assets garner interest. Law firms are scouring the field to hire experienced restructuring attorneys, counter…
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Diamond & Cain on online vs. hybrid legal education during COVID (Michael Simkovic)
Steven Diamond and Patricia Cain discuss tradeoffs between online and hybrid legal education during the COVID pandemic and argue in favor of online based on health risks and concerns about diversity and inclusion.
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Do legal clinics help reduce civil unrest? (Michael Simkovic)
A recent article argues that legal clinics funded in the 1960s to help the poor obtain access to legal services helped reduce civil unrest and thereby increased property values in minority communities. The article argues that the timing and location of grants to fund the establishment of these clinics was close enough to random (or…
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Legal occupations prove resilient during COVID shutdowns (Michael Simkovic)
International efforts to slow the spread of coronavirus have come at heavy economic cost. According to figures recently released by the Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. national unemployment rates have spiked from less than 5 percent to more than 14 percent as of April 2020, reaching the highest level since the Great…
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Advice to law students potentially graduating into a down economy (Michael Simkovic)
Unemployment increased from 3.5 percent in February to 4.4 percent in March, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Jobless claims have spiked by millions. While unemployment rates are currently moderate by historical standards, the rapid rate of increase raises concerns that the U.S. is entering into a recession, if it is not in…
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Independent Law schools and small to mid-sized law firms can apply for low interest, partly forgiveable SBA loans (Michael Simkovic)
As part of the CARE Act passed in March, the Small Business Administration (SBA) is working with private banks to make several hundred billion dollars available to businesses with fewer than 500 employees. Non-profits are eligible. Law schools that are separate legal entities from their universities (or are independent and unaffiliated) may qualify, as may…
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New “Emergency Relief Fund” for law students, funded by Access Lex, administered by law schools (Michael Simkovic)
The Access Lex Institute is providing $5 million in total to fund an emergency relief fund for students at each of 200 law schools. Each law school will receive $25,000. Law schools will be responsible for administering the funds to assist students in need. The press release describes the purpose of the funds as follows:…
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Novartis demands a 15% discount from its outside law firms unless they put more women and minority lawyers to work on Novartis legal matters (Michael Simkovic)
Bloomberg reports that Novartis AG, a Swiss Pharmaceutical firm with a Market Capitalization in excess of 220 billion USD and U.S. headquarters in Boston, is demanding that its U.S.-based outside law firms ensure that at least 30 percent of associate billable hours on Novartis matters are completed by associates who are female or members of…
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Does membership in the Federalist Society or American Constitutional Society undermine the appearance of judicial impartiality? (Michael Simkovic)
A draft judicial ethics advisory opinion would discourage judges and their clerks and staff attorneys from being members of either the conservative/libertarian Federalist Society or the liberal/progressive American Constitutional Society because of concerns that membership in such overtly ideological / political organizations could create an appearance of partisanship that could undermine perceptions of judicial impartiality. …
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Law professors are more religious than scientists, but it probably doesn’t matter much (Michael Simkovic)
At Taxprof blog, Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine) covers a study by James Lindgren (Northwestern) about the religious beliefs and practices of law professors. Lindgren compares law professors to the overall U.S. population and finds that law professors are more likely to express doubts about the existence of God. This study is part of a line…
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Consumer Reports: Leaked White House plan to slow progress on fuel economy standards will hurt consumers’ health and finances (Michael Simkovic)
From Consumer Reports: "A Trump administration plan to lower automotive mileage targets for future model years that could be approved in a matter of weeks would result in hundreds of dollars in [annual] added costs for consumers, according to a new U.S. Senate analysis. . . . The proposed regulation, called the Safe Affordable…
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David versus Goliath: Law professor sues New York Times Company over misleading and allegedly defamatory headline (Michael Simkovic)
Professor Lawrence Lessig recently sued The New York Times Company for defamation for incorrectly suggesting in a headline and lede that Lessig advocated soliciting donations from a convicted sex offender. The New York Times wrote: "A Harvard Professor Doubles Down: If You Take Epstein’s Money, Do It in Secret . . . It is hard…
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Van Horn discusses the legacy of corporate funding for the “Chicago School” of law & economics (Michael Simkovic)
Pro-market, a blog at the Stigler Center at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, recently published a retrospective by Robert Van Horn discussing the early financial and intellectual ties between the Chicago school of law and economics and powerful corporate interests, and the controversy such ties engendered. The University of Chicago's work on…
Hi Luis, This is a good idea for an experiment—it’s nice test of the substantial structure that I build into…