Publications

27 Apr 2016
Research & Ideas

How the FBI Reinvented Itself After 9/11

President George W. Bush expanded the FBI’s mission with a single question for Mueller: What was the FBI doing to prevent the next terrorist attack? And just like that, the brand-new director of the FBI had to figure out how to transform the organization from a View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

November 2022
Case

Wendy Estrella: Scaling Multiple Businesses

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Sarah Mehta

Entrepreneur Wendy Estrella, a self-made, Latina millionaire based in Lawrence, Massachusetts, is attempting to simultaneously scale her law practice as well as her property management and development company. What path should she take for each and can she do it all,... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Change; Competency and Skills; Decision Making; Demographics; Entrepreneurship; Personal Development and Career; Legal Services Industry; Real Estate Industry; Massachusetts

March 2020 (Revised March 2022)
Case

Wachtell Lipton: Focused Excellence

By: Ashish Nanda and Margaret Cross

For years, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz—a small, New York City law firm—has consistently boasted the highest profits per partner and one of the highest “prestige” ratings among U.S.-based law firms. The firm has remained loyal to a distinctive strategy ever since its... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Law; Mergers and Acquisitions; Legal Services Industry; New York (city, NY)

21 Feb 2005
Op-Ed

Is Business Management a Profession?

individuals. In response to the recent scandals, politicians and government officials have stepped in to pass new laws and create new regulations, while prominent persons on Wall Street and elsewhere in the business community have issued... View Details

Keywords: by Rakesh Khurana, Nitin Nohria & Daniel Penrice

February 2015
Other Article

Evaluating the Impact of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative on Breast-feeding Rates: A Multi-state Analysis

By: Summer Sherburne Hawkins, Ariel Dora Stern, Christopher F. Baum and Matthew W. Gillman

Objectives: Despite the passage of state laws promoting breast feeding, a formal evaluation has not yet been conducted to test whether and/or what type of laws may increase breast feeding. The enactment of breastfeeding laws in different states in the USA creates a... View Details

Keywords: Race; Nutrition; Laws and Statutes; United States

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May 2021 (Revised November 2024)
Case

Colombia: An Economic Premium to Peace?

By: Richard Vietor

Colombia, once the fastest growing country in Latin America, continues to struggle with productivity. Both labor productivity and total factor productivity have been low for the past decade, despite economic growth of 4.7% annually. Many factors contribute, which... View Details

August 2003 (Revised December 2003)
Background Note

Doctrine of Stare Decisis and Lawrence v. Texas, The

Explains the difference between civil law and common law systems and explores the role of precedent in a common law jurisdiction, such as the United States. Includes extensive excerpts from both the majority and the dissenting opinions in Lawrence v. Texas, in which... View Details

Keywords: Common Law; Code Law; United States

December 2018
Case

DraftKings and the Future of Fantasy Sports

By: Robert F. Higgins and Julia Kelley

Founded in 2012, DraftKings helped change the fantasy sports landscape by popularizing daily fantasy sports (DFS), or short-term fantasy sports tournaments that offered big cash prizes to winners. The company’s valuation exceeded $1 billion by 2015, but DraftKings soon... View Details

17 Jun 2015
Lessons from the Classroom

Excellence Comes From Saying No

in that they were a 50-50 mixture from the business school and Harvard Law School. The mixing of business and law students was in part to add diversity of perspective and to take students from both areas out... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

04 Apr 2022
What Do You Think?

As Disney Board Chair, What Would You Advise CEO Bob Chapek Regarding 'Don’t Say Gay'?

regarding “Don’t Say Gay”? What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments below. Note: Please limit your comments to how you think the Disney board and Chapek should respond, not opinions about the law itself. Editor’s Note:... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

October 2014 (Revised April 2018)
Supplement

Creditor Activism in Sovereign Debt: Argentina vs. Holdout Investors (B)

By: Laura Alfaro, Gaurav Toshniwal and Hilary White

2020
Working Paper

Do Judge-Lawyer Relationships Influence Case Outcomes?

By: Tianwang Liu and David Hao Zhang

We examine whether law school alumni relationships between the lawyers and judges affect case outcomes. We show that in the context of medical malpractice lawsuits in Florida, the plaintiff lawyer sharing the same law school as the judge increases the chances of... View Details

Keywords: Law; Relationships; Judgments; Outcome or Result

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January 2020
Article

The Impact of Mass Shootings on Gun Policy

By: Michael Luca, Deepak Malhotra and Christopher Poliquin

There have been dozens of high-profile mass shootings in recent decades. This paper presents three main findings about the impact of mass shootings on gun policy. First, mass shootings evoke large policy responses. A single mass shooting leads to a 15% increase in the... View Details

Keywords: Gun Violence; Gun Policy; Crime and Corruption; Governance; Policy; United States

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January 1988 (Revised January 1989)
Background Note

The Tax Aspects of Acquiring a Business

Describes the various tax laws that impact the purchase and sale of a business. View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Taxation; Laws and Statutes; Accounting Industry

March 2006
Background Note

Public Law: The Rules of the Game

Outlines the four primary public policy objectives underlying the U.S. laws regulating business in the early 21st century: to promote economic growth; to protect workers; to promote consumer welfare, and to promote public welfare. Other major economic powers tend to... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Laws and Statutes; United States

February 2002
Background Note

Legal Aspects of Entrepreneurship: A Conceptual Framework

Identifies many of the legal issues likely to arise in the course of starting and growing a company. Suggests strategies not only for ensuring compliance with the law but also for using the law and the legal system to increase predictability, maximize value, marshal... View Details

Keywords: Law; Entrepreneurship