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- July 1997
- Article
The Presidio Trust legislation: Preservation or Privatization?
By: Brian Trelstad
This analysis of the Presidio Trust legislation places the recent developments on the Presidio in the context of a century and a half of environmental planning. By first exploring the Presidio's history, and then tracing the more recent legislative background to the... View Details
- April 1996 (Revised November 1997)
- Case
Background and Agreements on Foreign Direct Investment
By: Louis T. Wells Jr. and Courtenay Sprague
A brief history of foreign direct investment (FDI) is explored, emphasizing conflicts, developments in the legal framework governing FDI, and international agreements and nonbinding principles formulated to resolve disputes brought in by FDI. Propositions provide a... View Details
- November 1995
- Case
"Marketing" at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
By: Jay W. Lorsch and Samanta Graff
Describes the history and unique operating principles of the most successful corporate law firm in the country. Closes with a lengthy quotation by Martin Lipton, who is one of the firm's founding partners and who is described in an American Lawyer article as the "Elvis... View Details
- Article
Investing in Distressed Situations: A Market Survey
By: S. C. Gilson
The risks of investing in distressed companies—a practice popularly known as "vulture" investing—are highly firm specific and idiosyncratic. Investors who are adept at managing these risks, who understand the legal rules that must be followed in corporate bankruptcy,... View Details
- October 1995
- Article
Start-ups, Spin-offs, and Internal Projects
By: James J. Anton and Dennis Yao
We examine the incentive problem confronting a firm and employee when the employee privately discovers a significant invention and faces a choice between keeping the invention private and leaving the firm to form a new company (start-up), or transferring knowledge and... View Details
- August 1995
- Case
Hutton Branch Manager (D)
By: Lynn S. Paine and Jane Palley Katz
Describes the actions taken by E.F.Hutton management in response to the Bell Report, a study prepared by former Attorney General Griffin Bell and his law firm after Hutton pleaded guilty to 2,000 counts of mail and wire fraud in connection with its cash management... View Details
- July 1995
- Background Note
Managerial Duties and Business Law
By: Joseph L. Badaracco Jr. and Jerry Useem
Consists of excerpts from Principles of Corporate Governance, a set of legal guidelines that enumerates the principal duties of corporate managers and directors, including fiduciary duty, duty of care, and duty of fair dealing. Also addresses legal obligations relating... View Details
- May 1995
- Background Note
Note on Product Liability
By: Willis M. Emmons III, Monica Brand and Greg Keller
This note provides an overview to the evolution and current state of product liability law in the United States. View Details
- November 1994
- Case
Navistar International
By: Stuart C. Gilson and Jeremy Cott
As a consequence of laying off half its workforce in a massive downsizing program, the company--a large manufacturer of medium and heavy trucks--struggles with a huge ($2.6 billion) liability for retiree medical costs. Although the company has promised its retirees... View Details
- November 1994
- Case
Dow Corning and the Breast Implant Controversy (A)
By: Willis M. Emmons III, Monica Brand and Greg Keller
In early 1994, Dow Corning Corp. debates whether to participate in a proposed $4.2 billion product liability settlement. Specifically, the firm must decide whether to contribute $2 billion to end a class action suit filed by women suffering from connective tissue... View Details
- November 1994 (Revised January 2006)
- Background Note
An Introduction to Patents and Trade Secrets
By: Josh Lerner
Provides an overview of patent and trade secret protection. Also discusses the legal processes through which intellectual property is protected and litigated. View Details
- February 1994 (Revised August 1994)
- Background Note
Note on Contingent Environmental Liabilities
Addresses contingent environmental liabilities that are the result of unforeseen environmental risks where the dollar amount of such liabilities is unknown and depends on future events. In contrast, fines for violating environmental laws are liabilities, but are not... View Details
- July 1993 (Revised September 1995)
- Supplement
Block 16: Conoco's "Green" Oil Strategy (B)
By: Malcolm S. Salter and Susan E.A. Hall
Presents a continuation of the (A) case. New legal and social issues arise. View Details
- October 1992 (Revised February 1995)
- Background Note
Note on the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations
By: Lynn S. Paine
Describes the federal guidelines used by judges for sentencing organizations convicted of criminal wrong-doing under U.S. law as of November 1, 1991. Describes the guidelines' approach to calculating criminal fines for organizations, determining an organization's... View Details
- October 1992 (Revised August 1994)
- Case
Allied-Signal: Managing the Hazardous Waste Liability Risk
By: Richard H.K. Vietor and Edward Prewitt
Allied-Signal, Inc., one of the world's oldest chemical companies and today a diversified conglomerate, is liable for clean-up costs of old hazardous waste sites. These costs are substantial: reserves grew to nearly $500 million in 1991. Attempting to avoid further... View Details
- September 1992 (Revised August 2004)
- Supplement
Martin Marietta: Managing Corporate Ethics (B)
By: Lynn S. Paine
The president of one of Martin Marietta's four main operating companies has learned of procurement irregularities in the company he manages. The problems involve U.S. government contracts the company is working on. After getting legal advice from the company's general... View Details
- September 1992 (Revised August 2004)
- Supplement
Martin Marietta: Managing Corporate Ethics (C2)
By: Lynn S. Paine
A jury must decide whether an employee, discharged for misusing company time and filling out false time cards for work on U.S. government contracts, has been wrongfully terminated. Designed to show how the human resource manager's perspective on employee discipline... View Details
- August 1992 (Revised December 1994)
- Case
Sexual Harassment, Free Speech or ...?
By: Lynn S. Paine
Presents two brief vignettes about female employees who object to gender discrimination in their work environment. In one case, the manager of a convenience store removes "adult" magazines from the store's shelves because she sees them as damaging to women. In the... View Details