Dean and Professor of Law Terence Lau L’98 outlined basic rules that CFOs should follow when addressing tariff refunds. In a Q&A with CFO Dive, Lau said that firms should “document, decide and then announce strategy.”
Earnings calls can be risky from a legal standpoint. “I would not comment on the merits of any pending case. But the general lesson from what we have seen so far is worth stating, and it is somewhat counterintuitive: the exposure is being built less out of what companies did than out of what they said. An earnings call is a voluntary deposition. The difference is that nobody objects, and the transcript is free,” he said.
Lau began his law career in the auto industry. He served in the office of the general counsel at Ford Motor Company in its international trade and transactions practice group, where he focused on distribution, M&A, and compliance before transferring to Bangkok, Thailand, to work as Ford’s director for ASEAN government affairs.