Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(135)
- Faculty Publications (43)
- 2018
- Working Paper
Patent Trolls: Evidence from Targeted Firms
By: Lauren Cohen, Umit G. Gurun and Scott Duke Kominers
We provide the first large-sample evidence on the behavior and impact of non-practicing entities (NPEs) in the intellectual property space. We find that on average, NPEs appear to behave as opportunistic “patent trolls.” NPEs sue cash-rich firms—and target cash in... View Details
- February 2014
- Article
Accountability of Independent Directors—Evidence from Firms Subject to Securities Litigation
By: Francois Brochet and Suraj Srinivasan
We examine which independent directors are held accountable when investors sue firms for financial- and disclosure-related fraud. Investors can name independent directors as defendants in lawsuits, and they can vote against their re-election to express displeasure over... View Details
- 2013
- Working Paper
Accountability of Independent Directors—Evidence from Firms Subject to Securities Litigation
By: Francois Brochet and Suraj Srinivasan
We examine which independent directors are held accountable when investors sue firms for financial and disclosure related fraud. Investors can name independent directors as defendants in lawsuits, and they can vote against their re-election to express displeasure over... View Details
- December 2012 (Revised November 2014)
- Case
W.R. Grace & Co.: Dealing with Asbestos Torts
By: Stuart C. Gilson and Sarah L. Abbott
A manufacturer of building products and specialty chemicals, W. R. Grace & Co. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2001 in response to a flood of lawsuits alleging that its products contained asbestos, and had caused hundreds of thousands of people to contract... View Details
Keywords: Bankruptcy Reorganization; Business Failures; Environmental Regulations; Class Action Lawsuits; Natural Environment; Valuation; Health Disorders; Capital Structure; Restructuring; Lawsuits and Litigation; Chemicals; Crisis Management; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Legal Liability; Construction Industry; Chemical Industry; United States
- 2013
- Working Paper
Securities Litigation Risk for Foreign Companies Listed in the U.S.
By: Beiting Cheng, Suraj Srinivasan and Gwen Yu
We study securities litigation risk faced by foreign firms listed on U.S. exchanges. We take into account not only the propensity for foreign firms to commit violations of U.S. securities laws but also the costs that investors face when suing foreign firms. We find... View Details
- May 2011 (Revised June 2011)
- Case
The Crisis at Tyco - A Director's Perspective
By: Suraj Srinivasan and Aldo Sesia
In 2002, Wendy Lane had been a member of the board of directors at Tyco International a little more than a year when the company's CEO Dennis Kozlowski and other top executives were accused of fraud, which ultimately led to resignations, imprisonments, lawsuits, and... View Details
- November 2010 (Revised May 2014)
- Case
Dow's Bid for Rohm and Haas
By: Benjamin C. Esty and David Lane
This case analyzes Dow Chemical Company's proposed acquisition of Rohm and Haas in 2008. The $18.8 billion acquisition was part of Dow's strategic transformation from a slow-growth, low-margin, and cyclical producer of basic chemicals into a higher-growth,... View Details
- November 2010
- Supplement
Dow's Bid for Rohm and Haas (CW)
By: Benjamin C. Esty
Spreadsheet Supplement for 211020. View Details
- November 2010
- Article
The Litigation of Financial Innovations
By: Josh Lerner
This paper examines the litigation of patents relating to financial products and services. I show that these grants are being litigated at a rate 27 to 39 times greater than that of patents as a whole. The patents being litigated are disproportionately those issued to... View Details
- September 2010 (Revised July 2013)
- Case
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Building Value from the IP Estate
By: Willy C. Shih and Sen Chai
The learning objective of this case is to help students recognize the interplay between intellectual property (IP) rights and corporate strategy. We do this by examining what is a fairly atypical circumstance today in which a single firm is able to secure what it... View Details
- fall 2010
- Article
Lawsuits and Empire: On the Enforcement of Sovereign Debt in Latin America
By: Faisal Z. Ahmed, Laura Alfaro and Noel Maurer
The re-occurring phenomenon of sovereign default has prompted an enormous theoretical and empirical literature. Most of this research has focused on why countries ever chose to pay their debts (or why private creditors ever expected repayment). The problem originates... View Details
- August 2010 (Revised March 2012)
- Supplement
The Dow Acquisition of Rohm and Haas (D)
By: Jay W. Lorsch and Melissa Barton
Dow's board and management team worked on arranging appropriate financing to complete the acquisition of Rohm and Haas. Meanwhile, the board of Rohm and Haas filed suit against Dow after it delayed the completion of the acquisition. View Details
- February 2010 (Revised June 2014)
- Supplement
CityCenter (C): Turmoil and Choices
By: John D. Macomber
"CityCenter (C)" follows the (A) and (B) cases chronologically. The (C) case explores the decisions facing MGM MIRAGE following a lawsuit by partner Dubai World and suspension of Dubai World's cash contributions to the project in early 2009. Issues include the... View Details
- September 2008 (Revised October 2008)
- Case
Shareholder Activists at Friendly Ice Cream (A1)
By: Fabrizio Ferri, V.G. Narayanan and James Weber
Two activist investors, one a founder and one a hedge fund manager, seek to improve board oversight at a chain restaurant company. Prestley Blake founded Friendly Ice Cream in 1935 with his brother, and the two created a chain of full-service restaurants. In 1979, they... View Details
- September 2008 (Revised October 2008)
- Supplement
Shareholder Activists at Friendly Ice Cream (A2)
By: V.G. Narayanan, Fabrizio Ferri and James Weber
The A1 and A2 versions of the “Shareholder Activists at Friendly Ice Cream (A)” split the original A case into two parts. The A1 case ends as activists Sardar Biglari and Phil Cooley prepare to meet with CEO Don Smith at Friendly's headquarters in September 2006. The... View Details
- April 2008 (Revised September 2008)
- Case
Shareholder Activists at Friendly Ice Cream (A)
By: Fabrizio Ferri, V.G. Narayanan and James Weber
Two activist investors, one a founder and one a hedge-fund manager, seek to improve board oversight at a chain restaurant company. Prestley Blake founded Friendly Ice Cream in 1935 with his brother, and the two created a chain of full-service restaurants. In 1979 they... View Details
- March 2008 (Revised April 2009)
- Case
Eliot Spitzer: Pushing Wall Street to Reform
By: Rawi Abdelal, Rafael Di Tella and Jonathan Schlefer
New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer faced a decision about how to stop wrongdoing committed by major Wall Street firms during the Internet boom. The equities analysts of Merrill Lynch and other Wall Street firms were charged with objectively advising retail... View Details
- April 2007 (Revised June 2008)
- Background Note
USG
By: Elie Ofek and Kerry Herman
Serves as a background note for purposes of class discussion around next-generation innovation at USG. Describes the company, its products, and competitors. Of relevance is the fact that it recently filed for Chapter 11 due to litigation over asbestos-related claims.... View Details
- Article
Consequences of Financial Reporting Failure for Outside Directors: Evidence from Accounting Restatements and Audit Committee Members
By: Suraj Srinivasan
I use a sample of 409 companies that restated their earnings from 1997 to 2001 to examine penalties for outside directors, particularly audit committee members, when their companies experience accounting restatements. Penalties from lawsuits and Securities and Exchange... View Details
- November 2004 (Revised June 2005)
- Case
Mall of America (A)
By: Lynn S. Paine and Christopher Bruner
Explores fiduciary duty issues that arose in litigation among partners in the partnership that owned and controlled the Mall of America. Describes the complex real estate transaction in which one partner attempted to purchase an additional interest in the mall from a... View Details