News

Professor Shubha Ghosh weighs in on Elon Musk’s Twitter Poll as a Proxy Solicitation

Professor Shubha Ghosh

In this Benzinga article, Crandall Melvin Professor of Law Shubha Ghosh discussed Elon Musk’s recent Twitter poll in advance of news of his purchase of a 9% stake in Twitter. 

Ghosh says, “Proxy solicitation is where a shareholder can get other shareholders to participate in a vote so that management of a company can change its policies,” he said. “And there are rules regarding proxy solicitation. It may be a gray area, but it doesn’t strike me as a proxy solicitation. I think he’s just doing sort of an investigation as to what the policies are and not necessarily trying to get fellow shareholders to vote in a particular way or swayed them in a particular way — these tweets were done to all his followers, some of whom may be Twitter shareholders, some may not be Twitter shareholders.”

Professor Gregory Germain Offers Advice on Rebuilding Your Credit Score at MoneyGeek

Professor Gregory Germain

Commercial and bankruptcy law expert Professor Gregory Germain shared his advice for those looking to rebuild their credit scores at MoneyGeek.com. He advised against credit cards with fees, saying “There are so many fees, and new ones are added all the time, that it’s impossible to list them all. First, you want to find a card without an annual fee.” Other insights he shared were to pay your balance in full, see if you can have a grace period to avoid interest charges and find a low APR. Read his full answer to the question, What red flags should credit card shoppers with poor or fair credit look for in unsecured credit card offers?

Germain also answered the question, If someone has fair or poor credit, would that person be better off getting an unsecured credit card (if approved) or a secured credit card? He suggested unsecured credit cards tend to be a better choice but to compare your options. “If the balance is modest, you may be able to convince a family member to serve as a co-signer. I did this for my daughter when she went to college (and had no credit history), and now she has a good credit score.’” Read his entire answer here.

Professor Paula Johnson On SCOTUS Nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Public Defender Experience

Professor Paula Johnson

In an interview with WAER, Professor Paula Johnson noted that U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson would bring a perspective that the Court has never had amongst its jurists: she is the only nominee to ever have experience as a public defender. 

Professor Paula Johnson said that means she had to represent clients who were often poor and people of color, and could see the disparities in their treatment and access to resources. Johnson said the court would be less one-sided with her on the bench.

“It doesn’t necessarily mean that there will be a particular outcome after hearing these voices, but it does mean there will be a full airing of all of the positions that ought to be considered when we’re talking about, in this instance, criminal justice matters,” Johnson said.

Distinguished Visiting Lecturer David Cay Johnston writes “How the Prosecution of Donald Trump can Continue”

Distinguished Visiting Lecturer David Cay Johnston writes in the New York Daily News on the Manhattan District Attorney’s decision to halt the prosecution of former President Trump. 

He writes, “Although such action is rare, the governor’s authority to replace any county district attorney with the state attorney general is nearly unfettered, New York state’s highest court held in 1997.”

Profs. Arlene S. Kanter & Cora True-Frost are published in the American Journal of International Law

Professor Arlene S. Kanter, Meredith Professor of Law, Director of the Disability Law and Policy Program, and Faculty Director of International Programs, and Bond, Schoeneck, and King Distinguished Professor Cora True-Frost L’01, have contributed essays to the American Journal of International Law Unbound in response to the publication, “Disability, Human Rights Violations, and Crimes Against Humanity”, published by Cambridge University Press.

Kanter’s essay is entitled, “The Potential Benefits and Limitations of the New Human Rights Indicators for the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities”.

True-Frost’s essay is entitled “Can International Criminal Law Help Express the Unrealized Value of Disabled Lives?”

This volume of the Unbound by symposium publication offers responses to the article,  “Disability, Human Rights Violations, and Crimes Against Humanity” by William I. Pons (Senior Legal Advisor to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities), Janet E. Lord (Harvard Law School Project on Disability and Advisor to UN Special Rapporteur on Disability) and Michael Ashley Stein (co-founder and Executive Director of the Harvard Law School Project on Disability, and Visiting Professor at Harvard Law School.)

3Ls Morgan Steele and Jackson Somes Prevail in the 44th Annual Lionel O. Grossman Trial Competition

3L Jackson Somes, the Hon. Rodney Thompson, the Hon. Bernadette Romano Clark, the Hon. Glenn T. Suddaby, 3L Morgan Steele

The team of 3Ls Morgan Steele and Jackson Somes won the 44th Annual Lionel O. Grossman Trial Competition. Somes also received the Best Advocate award.

 They prevailed over finalists 2L Giovanni Antonucci and LL.M. student Dessi-Ann Yetman.

The Hon. Glenn T. Suddaby L’85, Chief U.S. District Court Judge, Northern District of New York served as the presiding judge. The evaluators were the Hon. Bernadette Romano Clark L’89, Oneida County Supreme Court Judge and the Hon. Rodney Thompson L’93, Presiding Judge, Family Division, Superior Court of New Jersey.

BLSA Mock Trial Team Advances to National Round of the Constance Baker Motley Mock Trial Competition

Autumn Burgin, Kendall Anderson, Randi Gray, Abigail Neuviller

The Black Law Student Association (BLSA) Mock Trial Team has advanced to the national round of the Constance Baker Motley Mock Trial Competition. This is the third year in a row the BLSA Mock Trial Team has advanced to the finals

The team consists of 3Ls Abigail Neuviller, Alexis Eka, Randi Gray, and 2Ls Autumn Burgin and Kendall Anderson. Burgin won the award for Best Cross-Examination and Neuviller won the award for Best Direct Examination.

John Boyd L’16 coaches the team.

Professor Arlene Kanter Writes on Disabled Employees and the Growth of Work From Home Flexibility

Professor Arlene Kanter writes in the article “Our New Remote Workplace Culture Creates Opportunities for Disabled Employees” at the Petrie-Flom Center at Harvard Law School’s Bill of Health blog about the positive impact that work-from-home arrangements will have on disabled employees.

In conclusion, she writes, “While it is true that not all employees — with or without disabilities — want to work from home, and not all jobs can be done remotely, increasing opportunities for remote work should be upheld under the ADA. Increasing job opportunities by offering remote work as an option for qualified employees with disabilities is not only a reasonable accommodation; it also furthers the primary goals of the ADA to promote employment and economic self-sufficiency of disabled people.”

Professor Mark Nevitt Outlines the Issues Surrounding a No-Fly Zone over Ukrainian Airspace

At Just Security, Professor Mark Nevitt discusses the historical, legal, and implementation factors involved in establishing a No-Fly Zone over Ukrainian airspace.

Nevitt explains, “While I sympathize with the no-fly zone’s animating idea—to protect human lives—a NATO no-fly zone simply presents an unacceptable, escalatory risk to the United States and its allies – indeed, perhaps to the whole planet. It opens a Pandora’s box of anticipated and unintended consequences. Even if the no-fly zone is narrowly tailored with the express purpose of protecting humanitarian corridors—as signatories to a recent open letter suggested—it would fundamentally turn on U.S. and NATO military engagement with Russia, a nuclear power with an enormous nuclear arsenal.  Its leaders have already hinted at potentially using them in exactly this context.”