Faculty News
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Prof. Vaaler Quoted in Star Tribune Column on President Trump's Proposed Ban of China-Based Video Sharing and Networking Service TikTok
August 8, 2020John and Bruce Mooty Chair in Law & Business Professor Paul M. Vaaler was quoted in John Rash’s Star Tribune column on President Trump’s threat to ban China-based TikTok. Professor Vaaler noted the threat his ban and proposed sale to Microsoft pose to international trade and investment regime norms.
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Prof. Vaaler Quoted in Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal on CEO Compensation and Corporate Governance Trends During COVID-19 Pandemic
August 7, 2020John and Bruce Mooty Chair in Law & Business, Professor Paul M. Vaaler, was interviewed last month by a reporter from the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal (subscription required) for insight on non-salary CEO compensation trends during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Professor Vaaler pointed out how non-salary, often stock-based compensation, comprises a much larger percentage of overall compensation for CEOs, thus cutting salaries is more symbolic than real and substantial. The run-up in stock prices since March follows largely from extraordinary fiscal and monetary stimulus rather than strategic initiatives by firm CEOs. Corporate boards need to adjust overall CEO compensation, including non-salary stock-based components to incent faster adaptation to current pandemic and post-pandemic conditions in the near term.
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Prof. Orfield Quoted in Quartz on Racial Disparities in Urban Economic Booms
August 6, 2020Professor Myron Orfield, director of the Law School’s Institute on Metropolitan Opportunity, was quoted in Quartz in an article examining racial disparities in economic advantages in urban areas across the United States. The article cites research produced by the Institute that found that areas that underwent a strong economic expansion between 2000 and 2016 were less likely to have Black residents and more likely to have a surge in white residents. “The dry tinder [for the protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd] was racial and social inequality,” added Orfield.
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Prof. Wolf to Lead Ethics & Public Policy Component of New Center Funded by $26 Million Grant from National Science Foundation
August 5, 2020Professor Susan Wolf will lead the Ethics & Public Policy component of a new Engineering Research Center (ERC) on Advanced Technologies for the Preservation of Biological Systems (ATP-Bio) based at the University’s Institute for Engineering in Medicine and funded by a $26 million grant from the National Science Foundation. ATP-Bio will focus on new approaches to biopreservation to transform organ transplantation and other biological therapies, advance a sustainable global food supply, preserve biodiversity, and improve treatment of physical trauma. ATP-Bio research will put ethics and public policy at the forefront by conducting and publishing ethical analyses and engaging policy leaders to anticipate and consider the impacts of ATP-Bio research. Professor Wolf will work with faculty at the University of Minnesota and the cooperating ATP-Bio institutions (Massachusetts General Hospital, UC Riverside, and UC Berkeley) as well as an Ethics Advisory Panel. Read more about ATP-Bio here.
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Prof. Monahan Co-Authors Op-Ed in The Hill on Merits of Employer-Focused Public Health Care Option
August 5, 2020Professor Amy Monahan co-authored an opinion piece in The Hill on the merits of an employer-focused public health care option. The op-ed argues that the Unity Task Force’s recent recommendations miss the opportunity to make more transformative progress by failing to target decision-makers who could make a real difference regarding health care enrollment: employers.
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Bloomberg Law Quotes Prof. Cotter on Opinion Vacating Attorneys’ Fee Award
August 4, 2020An August 3, 2020 Bloomberg Law article (subscription required) titled “FastShip’s $6 Million Fee Award in Navy Patent Fight Nixed” discusses a recent decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, FastShip, LLC v. United States. The decision vacates an award of $6 million in attorneys’ fees which a lower court had granted an inventor who prevailed in a patent dispute against the U.S. Navy. The article notes that the decision is consistent with a decision earlier this year, which reads the relevant statute (28 U.S.C. § 1498(a)) as not permitting fee awards in patent disputes against the government for the government’s pre-litigation conduct. The article also states that “FastShip spent $6 million to litigate the case where it only won $7 million in damages,” and quotes Professor Tom Cotter as stating, among other things, that the court’s interpretation “makes it marginally more difficult for some patent holders to proceed with claims against the government because they have to shoulder their own fees.”
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Prof. Turoski Elected to Board of National Association of Patent Practitioners
July 30, 2020Professor Christopher M. Turoski was elected as vice president of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Patent Practitioners (NAPP). NAPP is a nonprofit trade organization dedicated to supporting patent practitioners and those working in the field of patent law in matters relating to patent prosecution and its practice. NAPP provides a collective voice in the broader IP community on patent law and patent prosecution practice.
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Prof. Shen’s Research on War Deaths Cited in New York Times Article on Local COVID-19 Deaths
July 28, 2020Professor Francis Shen’s research exploring the effect of local wartime casualties on political behavior was cited in the New York Times. Citing published work co-authored by Professor Shen and Cornell University Political Scientist Doug Kriner, the article noted that “[r]esearch shows that when people are killed in action during wartime, residents of the place the victims are from tend to hold elected leaders in Congress and the White House accountable. … Coronavirus-related deaths seem to be having a similar effect.”
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Prof. Orfield Quoted in The Economist on Racial Divisions in Twin Cities
July 24, 2020Professor Myron Orfield, director of the Law School’s Institute on Metropolitan Opportunity, was quoted in The Economist in an article examining particular racial inequities in the Midwest region of the United States. In this century, said Orfield, racial divisions have increased in Minneapolis-St. Paul. Of the 25 cities with the worst racial segregation in America, 15 are in the Midwest.
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Prof. Cox Quoted in MarketWatch on Recent CFPB Settlement and Potential Implications for Future Enforcement Modeling
July 17, 2020Professor Prentiss Cox was quoted in a MarketWatch article reporting on recent settlements made by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau with companies and people accused of illegally charging student-loan borrowers fees to help them manage their loans, as well as what these settlements might mean for future CFPB enforcement modeling. The suspended penalty approach is typical in some types of Federal Trade Commission enforcement actions, said Cox. These deals at the CFPB are a signal to Cox that the agency continues to move toward an enforcement model more similar to the FTC’s.