In an increasingly digital society, innovative technology that yields speed and efficiency can serve to spark industry-wide trends and influence future practice for years, even decades, thereafter. When Steve Jobs introduced the first iPod in 2001, for example, Apple earned worldwide acclaim and provoked an incredible proliferation of similar devices.1 What, then, can be made…
Year: 2014
Government Cheese: AIG and the Fed
“How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a weary world,” Shakespeare wrote.1 The United States government is now thinking twice about performing a good deed at a weary time. Former AIG CEO Maurice Greenberg and his firm Starr International2 filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of fellow…
Student Loan Discharges under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(8)
One of the hallmarks of the United States Bankruptcy Code is that debtors can receive discharges of their unsecured debts, and the effects of the discharge are shouldered by the debtor’s unsecured creditors in pro rata fashion. However, not all debts are dischargeable; for example, taxes or customs duties cannot be discharged, nor can debts…
Pricing Algorithms: Are Real-Time Pricing Services Utilized by Online Retailers Anti-Competitive?
Online retailers are increasingly using pricing algorithms to set their online prices. The advanced algorithms are self-learning and automatically compare competitor prices and customer demand to determine prices.1 The service allows companies to set their own preferences, which customizes the algorithm to their needs.2 Because these algorithms are complex and expensive to produce, the service…
The Legality of the AIG Lawsuit
After seven years since the controversial $85 billion bailout of AIG, the debate over the legality of the bailout is again rearing its ugly head. This post will cover the history of the bailout, a short explanation of the recent suits related to the bailout, and a summary of the vast legal opinions surrounding these…
Playing the Sports Market
Fans of fantasy sports who want to turn their fandom into real life may now have the chance. Sort of. Fantex, an investment company and trading platform, now offers the opportunity to invest in the future earnings of athletes.1 Here’s how it works: an athlete registers with Fantex for an Initial Public Offering (I.P.O.), where…
From Greening to Greenback: How Walmart’s Sustainable Food Initiative Can Increase Profits
Walmart has launched a new green initiative “to create a more sustainable food system,” which it seeks to implement through “four key pillars”:1 Reduce “True Cost” of Food: Walmart not only pledges to “provid[e] everyday low costs for customers.”2 Furthermore, it aims to reduce the “environmental impact of agricultural practices” by working with and promoting…
An Introduction to Municipal Bankruptcy
On July 18, 2013, the city of Detroit, Michigan declared bankruptcy.1 The city’s debt stood at $18.5 billion, more than four times greater than any other municipal bankruptcy since the modern bankruptcy code was adopted by congress.2 Despite the magnitude of the economic and social impacts of municipal bankruptcy, the topic is not diffusively understood….
Obama’s Inversion Rules on the Cusp of the House and Senate Elections can be Devastating to the Bigger Problem of Corporate Tax Reform
Barack Obama has been proposing corporate tax reform for a few years now.1 Democrats and Republicans agree that corporate tax reform is needed, but Democrats are reluctant to lower the rate without removing tax breaks and Republicans do not want the tax breaks to end. Washington is not moving quickly, if at all. The House…
Major League Soccer’s Single-Entity Structure: Time to Go?
In an August interview with the Washington Post, LA Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena had this to say of the league’s recent handling of his attempt to sign U.S. Men’s national team player Sacha Kliejstan: “We had a trade in place. We had budget room and space to be able to do it. We had…