SEALSB
Southeastern Academy of Legal Studies
in Business
61st Annual Meeting
Atlanta, Georgia
November 12-14, 2015
Hosted by
Photo credit: Kay Gaensler
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P.O. BOX 4036
Atlanta, Georgia 30302-4036
OFFICE
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Atlanta, Georgia 30303
404.413.7500 (office)
404.413.7499 (fax)
www.rmi.gsu.edu
November 12, 2015
Dear SEALSB colleagues:
I am excited to welcome you to Downtown Atlanta, home of Georgia State University and host to
the 61st annual conference of the Southeastern Academy of Legal Studies in Business. This
conference is made possible every year by the hard work of the SEALSB officers; this year,
Nathaniel Grow, Christina Benson, Alex Reed, Jason Gordon, and David Orozco have lent their
considerable time and talents to the conference’s planning and execution. We are also the
recipients of generous support from our sponsors, Georgia State University’s J. Mack Robinson
College of Business, West Academic, Cengage Learning, and McGraw Hill Education. Without
their support, we would be significantly hungrier, less caffeinated, and less able to engage in the
valuable exchange of ideas about scholarship and pedagogy that is SEALSB’s hallmark!
This year’s conference promises to continue in the SEALSB tradition of providing opportunities
not only for development of our research and teaching, but also for mentorship and networking,
fun and friendship. SEALSB is an extraordinarily welcoming group -- in that vein, we extend a
special welcome to those attending for the first time, and hope to see you again at future SEALSB
gatherings.
In addition to a packed day and a half of paper presentations, some of our group will visit Atlanta’s
new Center for Civil and Human Rights on Friday evening. I am particularly looking forward to
this part of the conference, as it will allow us to explore issues of equality and social justice that
are so important to us as lawyers and legal academics.
I hope you all have a wonderful conference. Welcome to Atlanta!
Sincerely,
Charlotte Alexander
SEALSB President-Elect and 2015 Program Chair
Assistant Professor of Legal Studies
J. Mack Robinson College of Business
Georgia State University
SEALSB Officers, 2014-2015
Nathaniel Grow
President
Terry College of Business
University of Georgia
Charlotte Alexander
President-Elect & 2015 Program Chair
J. Mack Robinson College of Business
Georgia State University
Christina Benson
Vice President
Martha and Spencer Love School of Business
Elon University
Alex Reed
Secretary
Terry College of Business
University of Georgia
Jason Gordon
Treasurer
Georgia Gwinnett College
David Orozco
Past President & ALSB Delegate
College of Business
Florida State University
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GENERAL SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Southeastern Academy of Legal Studies in Business (SEALSB)
61st Annual Conference
November 12 – 14, 2015
Atlanta, GA
Day/Time
Event
Location
Thursday
3:30–5:00 p.m.
November 12th
Conference Registration
5:00–7:00 p.m.
Welcome Cocktail & Appetizer Reception
Sponsored by Georgia State University
Department of Risk Management and
Insurance
Friday
7:30–8:30 a.m.
November 13th
McGraw-Hill Focus Group
Carnegie Room, 2nd floor
8:30 a.m.–3:00
p.m.
ALSB Executive Committee meeting
Carnegie Room, 2nd floor
8:00–5:00 p.m.
Conference Registration
Ellis Hotel lobby
8:00–9:00 a.m.
Hot Breakfast Buffet
Sponsored by West Academic Publishing
2nd floor landing
9:00–10:30 a.m.
Welcome and Academic Session I
Stoddard Room, 2nd floor
10:30-10:45 a.m.
Snack Break
Sponsored by Cengage Learning
2nd floor landing
10:45-12:15 p.m.
Academic Session II
Stoddard Room, 2nd floor
12:15 – 1:45 p.m.
ALSB Executive Committee lunch buffet
2nd floor landing
12:15 – 1:45 p.m.
Luncheon Awards Banquet
Ticketed event
Stoddard Room, 2nd floor
1:45 – 3:00 p.m.
Academic Session III
Stoddard Room, 2nd floor
3:00 – 3:10 p.m.
Snack Break
2nd floor landing
3:10 – 4:45 p.m.
Academic Session IV
Stoddard Room, 2nd floor
Ellis Hotel lobby
176 Peachtree Street NE
Atlanta, GA 30303
Alma Cocina Atrium Bar
191 Peachtree Street
Atlanta, GA 30303
> Diagonal across Peachtree Street
from hotel
4:45 – 6:15 p.m.
Optional visit to Civil & Human Rights
Museum
Ticketed event
Open late especially for SEALSB
100 Ivan Allen Jr. Boulevard NW
Atlanta, GA 30313
> 0.6 mile walk from hotel or take the
free Atlanta Streetcar from front of
hotel to within 4 blocks of museum
Saturday
November 14th
7:00-8:00 a.m.
Cengage Learning Focus Group
Carnegie Room, 2nd floor
8:00-11:00 a.m.
Conference Registration
Ellis Hotel lobby
8:00 – 9:00 a.m.
Hot Breakfast Buffet
2nd floor landing
8:00 – 9:00 a.m.
SEALSB Business Meeting
Stoddard Room, 2nd floor
9:00-10:30 a.m.
Academic Session V
Stoddard Room, 2nd floor
10:30-10:45 a.m.
Snack Break
2nd floor landing
10:45-12:15 p.m.
Academic Session VI
Stoddard Room, 2nd floor
ADJOURN THE 61st ANNUAL SEALSB CONFERENCE
ACADEMIC SESSION SCHEDULE
Southeastern Academy of Legal Studies in Business (SEALSB)
61st Annual Conference
November 12 – 14, 2015
Atlanta, GA
All locations: Ellis Hotel, Stoddard Room, 2nd Floor
Day/Time
Friday
Event
November 13th
9:00–10:30 a.m.
Academic Session I
Moderator:
Allison Burdette
Emory University
Presenter:
Ronald X. Groeber
Ball State University
Paper:
Global Financial Crises and Regulation
Stephen Park
University of Connecticut
& Tim Samples
University of Georgia
Puerto Rico’s Debt Crisis and Ad Hoc Investor-State Governance in
Sovereign Finance
Lydie Louis
University of Miami
Warsaw Rising: An Entrepreneurial Model For Business
Jeffrey R. Boles
Temple University
Combating Tax Evasion through the Federal Money Laundering Statutes
Greg Day
Oklahoma State University
Irrational Investors and the Puzzling Structure of Corporate Inversions
Ryan Grelecki & Susan Willey
Georgia State University
Applying Legal Concepts to Business in a Legal Environment of Business
Course: The Build-A-Business Project
10:30 - 10:45 a.m.
Break
10:45 - 12:15 p.m.
Academic Session II
Moderator:
Karen Carter
Georgia Perimeter College
Presenter:
Stephen Park & Robert Bird
University of Connecticut
Paper:
A Risk-Cost Model of Firm Compliance
Dawn D. Bennett-Alexander
University of Georgia
Nothing Says Lovin' Like Something in the Oven? Employers Aren't
Feeling it: The US Supreme Court's Recent Pregnancy Decision in Young
v. UPS
Alex Reed
University of Georgia
Title VII 2.0
Charlie Penrod
University of West Florida
Playing it safe: Why pre-law undergraduate programs should no longer
permit unpaid internships at for-profit placement sites
Kimberly Houser
Washington State University
Women's Leadership Gap and Unconscious Bias
Lucien Dhooge
Georgia Institute of
Technology
A Survey of Public Accommodation Statutes and Religious Liberty: Free
Access or Free Exercise?
12:15 - 1:45 p.m.
Luncheon Awards Banquet
1:45 - 3:00 p.m.
Academic Session III
Moderator:
Lara Grow
University of Georgia
Presenter:
Kathryn C. Bender
The College of Charleston
Paper:
International Contracts and Dispute Resolution Options: A Case Study
Angie Raymond
Indiana University
The Consumer as Sisyphus: Should We be Happy with 'Why Bother'
Consent?
Nan S. Ellis
Loyola University Maryland
& Steve Dow
Michigan State University
Unsafe at Any Speed?: Lessons from Toyota and General Motors on
how to ensure automobile safety
Josephine Balzac
Rollins College
Stop the DARK Act! The Non-GMO Project Verified Labels Promotes
Sustainability by Providing Transparency and Material Information to
Socially Responsible Consumers.
Clay Hipp
Wake Forest University
Teaching Legal Environment: It’s All About the Commerce Clause
3:00 p.m. - 3:10 p.m.
Break
3:10 - 4:45 p.m.
Academic Session IV
Moderator:
Donna Pelham
Methodist University
Presenter:
Cristen Dutcher & Sonia Toson
Kennesaw State University
Paper:
Students' Perceptions of Adaptive Textbook Technology as a Learning
Tool in Legal Studies Courses
Roxane DeLaurell, Chris Birkel
& Julie Blose
College of Charleston
Blurred Lines: Students' Perceptions of the Use of Twitter in the
Classroom #profsbeware
Ginger Devine
Walden University
& Sherry Olsen
Kaplan University
Today's Educator: Connecting the Dots
Laura R. Dove & Natalie P.
Bryant
Troy University
Law in Translation: Challenges and Opportunities in Teaching Business
Law and Legal Environment to International Students
Natalie Bryant & Rachel
Hooper
Troy University
Developing Practical Legal Research Skills for the Business Student
through an Embedded Librarian and Research Assignments
Leila Lawlor
Georgia Perimeter College
& Susan Willey
Georgia State University
Who’s Working for You? Leading Students through the Critical Business
Determination of Whether Workers Are Employees or Independent
Contractors
Perry Binder
Georgia State University
Flipping a Law Class Session: Creating Effective Online Content and Real
World In-class Team Modules
Saturday
November 14th
8:00 – 9:00 a.m.
SEALSB Business Meeting
9:00 - 10:30 a.m.
Academic Session V
Moderator:
Tonya Curry
American Public University
Presenter:
Paper:
Nathaniel Grow
University of Georgia
The Curiously Confounding Curt Flood Act
Ramsi Woodcock
Georgia State University
Innovation and Reverse Payments
Mike Schuster
Oklahoma State University
Rent-Seeking and Inter Partes Review: An Analysis of Invalidity
Assertion Entities in Patent Law
Robert Thomas
University of Florida
& Susan Marsnik
University of St. Thomas
United States & European Patent Convergence Through Shared Chaos
Philip Nichols
University of Pennsylvania
Preparing for and Preventing Corruption in Algorithmic Healthcare
Debra Burke
Western Carolina University
Federal Imperatives for Accessible Online Instruction for Disabled
Students and the Challenge of Compliance
10:30 - 10:45 a.m.
Break
10:45 - 12:15 p.m.
Academic Session VI
Moderator:
Jason Gordon
Georgia Gwinnett College
Presenter:
Kelly Grace, Susan Willey, et al.
Georgia State University
Paper:
Does the Content of Codes Influence Company Ethics? An Examination
of Employee Codes of Conduct of the Fortune 500
J. Haskell Murray
Belmont University
Constituency Directors and Advisory Boards
Matthew Phillips
Wake Forest University
Claiming an Identity: Teaching Professional Identity for Business
Managers
David Orozco
Florida State University
Strategic Legal Bullying: Benefits, Costs, and Defensive Techniques
Christina Benson
Elon University
Using Transformative Learning Theory to Develop Innovative Teaching
Methods in Business Ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Social
Entrepreneurship
The Conceptual Incompatibility of Tax Avoidance with CSR and
Stakeholder Theory
Karie Davis-Nozemack
Georgia Institute of
Technology
ADJOURN THE 61st ANNUAL SEALSB CONFERENCE
ABSTRACTS
B
Balzac, Josephine, Stop the DARK Act! The Non-GMO Project Verified Labels Promotes Sustainability by
Providing Transparency and Material Information to Socially Responsible Consumers.
The grassroots anti-GMO movement has gained significant traction amongst socially responsible
consumers, who are demanding a right to know what is in their foods. Because of the lack of federal
regulation and legislation and the chaos among the individual state initiatives for labeling, the market has
responded through third party verification labels, such as the Non-GMO Project Verified Label. This paper
argues that this verification label is promoting corporate social responsibility, sustainability and providing
the transparency and material information that socially responsible consumers need and want. However,
major food corporations that strongly oppose mandatory GMO labeling, have recently introduced new
legislation renamed the DARK (Deny Americans the Right to Know) Act, which would essentially block all
Non-GMO labeling claims until USDA creates a Non-GMO certification program. This paper argues that
the DARK Act would have a significant negative impact on sustainability and would impede the progress
of the voluntary labeling. The proposal in this paper is to first stop the DARK Act legislation, second to
continue to push for mandatory labeling, and lastly to continue to promote private governance in the
food industry through voluntary third party certifications. This is the best way to promote corporate
social responsibility, transparency, and sustainability.
Bender, Kathryn C., International Contracts and Dispute Resolution Options: A Case Study
Including a class lecture on International Law in an undergraduate business law curriculum is challenging
because of the vast body of laws, treaties and customs that are at play. This case study provides a vehicle
for teaching international law towards the end of the semester through an actual case conflict where
students think through issues related to contract breach, choice of law and dispute resolution. This
problem is an international dispute resulting in a claim and counterclaim for breach of contract between
a Dutch company and a U.S. company regarding problems related to a shipment of goods, the
determination of whether the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of
Goods or the Uniform Commercial Code applies to the contractual terms and the choice of an arbitral
organization. It adds an analysis of resolving and enforcing the dispute by mediation pursuant to a draft
treaty.
Bennett-Alexander, Dawn D., "Nothing Says Lovin' Like Something in the Oven? Employers Aren't Feeling
it: The US Supreme Court's Recent Pregnancy Decision in Young v. UPS"
In March of 2015, the US Supreme Court handed down its decision in a Title VII workplace pregnancy
discrimination case that made it difficult for employers to treat pregnant employees different from
similarly situated non-pregnant employees who need a bit of time off. EEOC has also issued new
guidelines. While the vacated and remanded case eventually settled in October of 2015, it is clear from
the rash of recent cases that employers are still discriminating on the basis of pregnancy based on their
own stereotypical ideas rather than the actual experience of their pregnant employees nearly 40 years
after passage of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978. The paper will take a look at the Supreme
Court decision and some of the cases decided in its wake to explore how best to handle this lingering
workplace issue.
Benson, Christina C., Using Transformative Learning Theory to Develop Innovative Teaching Methods in
Business Ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Social Entrepreneurship
This pedagogical paper uses case studies from undergraduate business ethics and entrepreneurship
courses to address how business school educators can apply key elements of transformative learning
theory to enhance problem solving in business ethics, social responsibility, and social entrepreneurship
courses, including catalysing a social entrepreneurial mindset among undergraduate business students.
“Transformative learning” has been described as “learning that induces more far-reaching change in the
learner than other kinds of learning, especially learning experiences which shape the learner and produce
a significant impact, or paradigm shift, affecting the learner's subsequent experiences.”
Binder, Perry, Flipping a Law Class Session: Creating Effective Online Content and Real World In-class
Team Modules
This paper discusses the teaching and learning experience of flipping a business law and ethics class
session in a hybrid format. Part I discusses the online video content; the coordination of university
technology personnel to create the video; the software platform to capture material and password
protect it; and the intellectual property issues relating to that content. Part II provides a description of
each team module, the tasks that students completed outside of class for the modules, and specific
instructions on team presentations in class. These real world business scenarios provided an integrative
approach for teaching law and ethics, and include : (1) Breach of Contract Module; (2) Products Liability
Module; and (3) Discovery Ethics and Attorney-Client Privilege Module. Finally, Part III of this paper details
what the author learned through the flipped classroom process, and what he would do the same or
differently for the next time he flips a class session.
Boles, Jeffrey R., Combating Tax Evasion through the Federal Money Laundering Statutes
This paper explores a new approach to combat tax evasion through the use of the federal money
laundering statutes. It analyzes a recent Circuit split in connection with this approach and discusses the
public policy implications surrounding the debate.
Bryant, Natalie & Rachel Hooper, Developing Practical Legal Research Skills for the Business Student
through an Embedded Librarian and Research Assignments
The legal environment of business course offers the opportunity for students to develop basic legal
research skills that have practical application in the workplace. A legal environment of business professor
and librarian worked to develop basic legal research skills by (1) embedding a librarian within the course;
and (2) assigning students three small-scale research assignments. This article explores the benefits of
developing legal research skills for business students, explains the process the authors undertook for
embedding the librarian within the course and creating the assignments, and analyzes data collected
from surveys administered to students within the course sections.
Burke, Debra, Federal Imperatives for Accessible Online Instruction for Disabled Students and the
Challenge of Compliance
Online instruction can be challenging for students with certain impairments. This paper will discuss the
application of the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act to the online learning environment of higher education,
discuss regulatory standards, and review ways in which courses can be designed to comply with the
statutory directives.
D
Davis-Nozemack, Karie, The Conceptual Incompatibility of Tax Avoidance with CSR and Stakeholder Theory
Despite more than ten years of coherent calls for the inclusion of tax avoidance into CSR theory and
reporting models, it remains largely absent. This paper suggests the business community’s unwillingness
to accept the link between CSR and tax avoidance is attributable to the incompatible theoretical
constructs of CSR and tax avoidance. This paper explores the application of Murphy & Nagel's everyday
libertarianism theory to tax avoidance.
Day, Greg, Irrational Investors and the Puzzling Structure of Corporate Inversions
Despite recent legislation and administrative rules, U.S. corporations continue to engage in a
controversial transaction known as a “corporate inversion.” An inversion occurs when a U.S. corporation
escapes aspects of the U.S. tax code by reincorporating under the laws of a foreign country. The process
is both costly and cumbersome, requiring an inverting firm to acquire and merge with a foreign company
under rigid legal conditions. Inversions have also drawn public scorn since they not only erode the U.S. tax
base, but they also transfer capital abroad where foreign nations enjoy the benefits of research and
development, intellectual property innovation, and human capital growth. That said, inverting is
particularly attractive from a corporate manager’s and director’s point of view. This is because the
inversion process can reduce a company’s tax burden while also diminishing management’s duty to
comply with burdensome regulatory frameworks. For instance, inverted companies are required to adopt
their new nation’s corporate governance laws, which tend to be more relaxed and management-friendly
than U.S. corporate governance statutes. Likewise, since U.S. exchanges subject foreign incorporated
companies to less scrutinizing securities regulations, publicly traded companies can minimize costly
disclosure, auditing, and corporate governance requirements. Corporate directors thus predictably favor
inverting in countries that offer reduced tax rates, disfavor hostile takeovers, minimize fiduciary duties,
limit exposure to litigation, and diminish corporate disclosure requirements. But, critically, these
transactions are puzzling from an investor or shareholder’s point of view. Since corporate regulations are
generally thought to protect investors, why would an individual invest in a company that intentionally
sought out, and reincorporated in, a country that provides minimal shareholder protections? In fact,
shareholders often vote in favor of, and thus authorize, the very transactions that limit their ability to
acquire information and enforce other shareholder rights. So why is the corporate migration trend
booming if individuals should disfavor investing in inverted companies and shareholders should refuse to
authorize them? Do individuals value the law?
DeLaurell, Roxane, Chris Birkel & Julie Blose, Blurred LInes: Students' Perceptions of the Use of Twitter in
the Classroom #profsbeware
In the rush to stimulate the classroom experience educators have taken to social media without first
determining whether or not this is what students want. This paper surveyed students as to their
perceptions of the use of twitter in rthe classroom, their base legal knowledge about the use of twitter
and detrmined that students are not as eager to have twitter in the classroom as the social media as led
us to believe. ANOVA analysis was applied to a scaled questionaire given to students at a regional public
institution.
Devine, Ginger & Sherry Olsen, Today's Educator: Connecting the Dots
Significant attention has been given to online education, from a growing trend toward virtual options to
questions of law and ethics. The Gainful Employment regulations have now taken effect, calling into
question how online programs will survive and compete. We will address trends in development of
online education and the factors that comprise successful online programs and successful virtual
instruction.
Dhooge, Lucien, A Survey of Public Accommodation Statutes and Religious Liberty: Free Access or Free
Exercise?
This paper examines potential issues posed by the wide variety of state public accommodation statutes in
the context of sexual orientation and religious freedom. The paper categorizes state public
accommodation laws into six separate classifications with specific emphasis upon their commonalities
and differences. The paper proposes greater uniformity among public accommodation laws with respect
to definitions and exemptions granted either by statute or through the enactment of religious freedom
legislation.
Dove, Laura R. & Natalie P. Bryant, Law in Translation: Challenges and Opportunities in Teaching Business
Law and Legal Environment to International Students
International students comprise an increasingly large portion of enrolled students at many U.S. colleges
and universities. This Article identifies unique challenges faced by both faculty and international students
in business law and legal environment courses. Along with these challenges, however, this Article
discusses a variety of opportunities that can arise in diverse classrooms to enhance all students’
understanding and appreciation of law in a global business environment. Finally, we offer
recommendations for addressing the challenges and embracing the opportunities we have identified.
Dutcher, Cristen & Sonia Toson, Students' Perceptions of Adaptive Textbook Technology as a Learning Tool
in Legal Studies Courses
This article furthers the literature on classroom technology by discussing an investigation on an
innovative textbook technology in an undergraduate legal studies course. First, we discuss traditional
methods of teaching law, and the effectiveness of using technology at both the law school and
undergraduate levels. Next, we review student preferences for print versus electronic texts. Then, we
introduce LearnSmart, an adaptive and interactive textbook technology, and compare it to other
electronic texts in the higher education market. Finally, we analyze data on our students’ perceptions of
LearnSmart, and conclude with recommendations for LearnSmart’s use in the undergraduate legal studies
classroom.
E
Ellis, Nan S. & Steve Dow, Unsafe at Any Speed?: Lessons from Toyota and General Motors on how to
ensure automobile safety
The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration was created to address a perceived public health
concern – the number of highway injuries and deaths. In this paper we will argue that highway safety is
still a major public health concern in light of the high profile cases of the last few years. This paper will
consider possible public policy approaches to better protect consumers. Most importantly, we will
discuss recent application of so-called crimtorts or imposing criminal liability for what has traditionally
been civil tort liability. We will conclude by offering a third approach, that of a beefed up NHTSA.
G
Grace, Kelly, Susan Willey, et al., Does the Content of Codes Influence Company Ethics? An Examination of
Employee Codes of Conduct of the Fortune 500
Do corporate codes of conduct affect the ethical practices of companies or merely fulfill regulatory
requirements? To assess their effectiveness, we used text mining and factor analysis to analyze and
compare employee Codes of Conduct posted by the 2013 Fortune 500 companies, focusing primarily on
the use of compliance-oriented and ethics-oriented words. We evaluate whether a statistical relationship
exists between codes and companies' social and governance evaluations, as provided by the KLD dataset,
our proxy for ethics. We explore the legal background of codes and the theoretical rationale for our
hypotheses before discussing methodology and reporting our preliminary findings.
Grelecki, Ryan & Susan Willey, Applying Legal Concepts to Business in a Legal Environment of Business
Course: The Build-A-Business Project
Our students will inevitably come face-to-face with the legal system in their professional lives. To prepare
them for that eventual collision, we have designed the Build-A-Business Project, which provides students
with an opportunity to research the legal risks facing certain types of businesses. This versatile project
requires students to apply the legal concepts learned throughout the semester to companies they
“create.” As a result, students both develop tools that enable them to address these legal risks in the
future and gain a deeper understanding of how the law impacts the conception, development, and
maintenance of a company.
Groeber, Ronald X., Global Financial Crises and Regulation
Examines regulatory causes of the most recent global financial crisis, and the regulatory failures.
Deliberates on the regulatory environment of international finance.
Grow, Nathaniel, The Curiously Confounding Curt Flood Act
This article examines the Curt Flood Act of 1998 (“CFA”), a little known statutory provision partially
repealing professional baseball’s antitrust exemption to allow major league baseball players to file
antitrust lawsuits against Major League Baseball. Although Congress went to great lengths to emphasize
the law’s intended neutrality in all other respects, most subsequent courts and commentators have
surprisingly interpreted the CFA quite differently, concluding that the Act actually endorsed broad
antitrust immunity for professional baseball. This article contends that future courts should reject the
majority interpretation of the CFA and instead construe it neutrally in most respects, as Congress
intended.
H
Hipp, Clay, Teaching Legal Environment: It’s All About the Commerce Clause
The paper explores the essential role of the so-called Commerce Clause in teaching the legal environment
course. The extant textbooks all cover the clause in one way or another. The argument made here is that
it deserves a greater prominence because it should be viewed as an essential and ”unifying theme” for a
student attempting to understand the complexity of our integrated legal system. This is so because it was
both central to the original constitutional structure and the vehicle for virtually all federal regulation of
the commercial marketplace. It helps to explain the meaning of “federalism” and provides insight into the
continuing battle over local versus national solutions to important political issues.
Houser, Kimberly, Women's Leadership Gap and Unconscious Bias
This presentation will explore the connection between unconscious bias and gender discrimination. Even
though we are unaware of it, we tend to like people who look like us, think like us and come from
backgrounds similar to ours. While we prefer to believe ourselves to be open-minded and objective,
research shows that the beliefs and values acquired from family, culture and a lifetime of experiences
heavily influence how we view and evaluate both others and ourselves. Unconscious bias occurs when we
discount those who are different than us. This has an enormous implication for women working in male
dominated fields. While legal recourse should be a last resort, raising awareness of unconscious bias in
the workplace may be the first step in addressing it. Our research will examine the following: defining
unconscious bias; looking for methods of measuring it; explore solutions in the workplace; and analyzing
the court cases which discuss unconscious bias data. This presentation is meant to solicit feedback
regarding the direction of a research papers on using unconscious bias data in gender employment law
cases. While unconscious bias has been used in criminal cases where race was an issue, it has not yet
been used successfully in gender discrimination suits.
L
Lawlor, Leila & Susan Willey, Who’s Working for You? Leading Students through the Critical Business
Determination of Whether Workers Are Employees or Independent Contractors
Accurately classifying workers is a critical determination for business managers in today’s competitive
marketplace. The consequences to a business of misclassifying workers is high: an increase in worker
lawsuits challenging their classification as independent contractors, the adverse publicity surrounding
such litigation, back pay and retroactive benefits awarded to workers improperly classified as
independent contractors, and liability for unpaid employment taxes. Understanding the distinction
between independent contractors and employees offers a rich, timely opportunity to improve students’
critical thinking and communication skills. In a series of scaffolded assignments, culminating in a written
project, students apply the current legal standards to three different business scenarios.
Louis, Lydie, Warsaw Rising: An Entrepreneurial Model For Business
The recent Global Financial Crisis, and subsequent Great Recession have severely wounded, and to some
extent crippled, the financial infrastructure of many countries. Perhaps the most vulnerable category that
has struggled to regain some measure of stability is transitional economies because of the vulnerability of
transitional economies; they lack the anchoring of developed industries or governmental acumen to
access capital in providing the liquidity to stabilize the domestic economy. As a result, economic and
financial crises can be devastating a domestic economy especially in situations where the domestic
economy is in a stage of transition. It is also true that economic crises can often serve to catapult
fundamental institutional paradigm shifts to have a positive and innovative impacts on new governance
structures, policies and business regulation. Yet, for transitional economies the struggle to create
sustainable economic development and business opportunities is exceedingly difficult. However, when a
particular transitional economy, which was completely destroyed by the invading Nazi Arm. And, yet in
time, a rebirth has occurred. A painstaking rebuilding every cobbled street, every garden, and every
structure, as a living testament to a culture’s unwavering will to survive. And, the world took notice.
Warsaw, Poland is such a transitional economy. Warsaw’s path to recovery is due in part, to the embrace
of deregulation and entrepreneurship.
M
Murray, J. Haskell, Constituency Directors and Advisory Boards
Over the past decade, the United States has experienced exceptional growth in the social business
movement. This social business movement seeks to have firms focus on the interests of all corporate
stakeholders, taken as a whole, rather than solely the financial interests of shareholders. Coupled with
the social business movement of the past decade has been the passage of social enterprise statutes by
over thirty states, which create for-profit entity forms for businesses pursuing social and environmental
ends.
N
Nichols, Philip, Preparing for and Preventing Corruption in Algorithmic Healthcare
In the future most medical diagnoses and prescription will be done algorithmically. Pharmaceutical and
medical devices firms spend more on marketing than on research. These industries have often used
marketing budgets to improperly influence decisionmakers. Algorithmic healthcare will render marketing
largely superfluous, leaving healthcare firms with large budgets to improperly influence the new
decisionmakers –designers of algorithms. Most legal literature on algorithmic healthcare focusses on
issues of privacy; legal scholars, however, are uniquely qualified to examine the soundness of the
institutions used to create and utilize algorithms. This paper suggests one method of preventing
corruption in their design.
O
Orozco, David, Strategic Legal Bullying: Benefits, Costs and Defensive Techniques
Companies increasingly use the law as an instrument to achieve strategic business gains. In their zealous
pursuit to use the law for this instrumental purpose, however, companies may end up committing a
disservice to others. This article will examine the use of legal strategy as a complement to competitive
advantage in both its permissible and illegitimate manifestations. The focus on the latter is a practice
labeled strategic legal bullying. The article will also examine the limits that are currently imposed on
strategic legal bullying to protect society and those who might be harmed by its negative effects.
P
Park, Stephen & Robert Bird, A Risk-Cost Model of Firm Compliance
This paper examines regulatory compliance from the perspective of the firm. Based on a model of
regulatory compliance showing the tradeoffs between the cost of compliance and risk of non-compliance,
we address a firm's aversion to compliance risk, its technical efficiency in complying with regulation, its
allocative efficiency in deploying its resources for compliance, and its internal environment. Using this
model, we analyze how different modes of regulatory enforcement affect the firm's response to risk-cost
tradeoffs, and show how firms can innovate to reduce compliance costs and obtain a competitive
advantage in demanding regulatory environments.
Park, Stephen & Tim Samples, Puerto Rico’s Debt Crisis and Ad Hoc Investor-State Governance in
Sovereign Finance
The unfolding sovereign debt crisis in Puerto Rico is without precedent in complexity. The task of
unraveling an extraordinarily tangled web of debt obligations is compounded by Puerto Rico’s legal limbo
as a quasi-sovereign territory that is neither a bona fide sovereign nor a municipality. This Article analyzes
how political exigency and legal constraints in Puerto Rico have facilitated broad-based coordination
between private creditors and government borrowers. Puerto Rico serves as the latest and most
compelling evidence of the emergence of an ad hoc governance regime in sovereign finance, thus
providing new insights for addressing systemic collective action problems.
Penrod, Charlie, Playing it safe: Why pre-law undergraduate programs should no longer permit unpaid
internships at for-profit placement sites
The state of the law for unpaid interns is murkier than ever. Conflicting judicial rulings have laid a
minefield of traps for the unwary employer seeking to utilize free labor and simultaneously give students
a genuine academic experience. Meanwhile, universities are in the crossfire of this debate, as many
students are required to obtain college credit as a field intern to complete their degree. This paper
explores the state of the law today and proposes that universities should highly encourage, or in some
cases insist, that all interns in the academic program be paid at least the minimum wage.
Phillips, Matthew, Claiming an Identity: Teaching Professional Identity for Business Managers
Sociologists have debated whether business managers can be considered professionals, but the
sociological debate is not the most interesting one. Can we, upon adopting the duties and obligations that
come with the label "professional," more effectively teach and practice ethical behavior?
R
Raymond, Angie, The Consumer as Sisyphus: Should We Be Happy with “Why Bother” Consent?
Much like Sisyphus of Greek mythology, consumers face a futile task of reading contract terms and
keeping abreast of terms of service. Facing such a fate, consumers often ignore the terms within their
agreements. The reality of this ‘why bother’ consent is amplified in recent court decisions that have
extended contract doctrine to its most extreme reading, thereby creating a consumer environment that
recognizes and enforces agreements that are never reviewed or considered. Moreover courts now
extend this legal logic to newly presented terms a fate that no one should have expected when rolling
contracts were first considered. Fortunately, new technology is returning much of the power to the
consumer. In this way, consumer protections and similar legal doctrines can begin to match reality of
contracting. This paper considers the development of such legal doctrine, ultimately suggesting the
newest technology will restore power to consumers in the digital world.
Reed, Alex, Title VII 2.0
Unlike the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, the Equality Act seeks to amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act
to prohibit LGBT-related discrimination not only in employment but also in public accommodations,
housing, credit, and jury service. This article contends that the Equality Act should be revised to include
"age" and "disability" alongside "sexual orientation" and "gender identity," thereby creating a multi-class
coalition reminiscent of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Besides improving the bill's prospects for passage, a
revised Equality Act would help to eliminate the doctrinal confusion that has plagued the Age
Discrimination in Employment Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
S
Schuster, Mike, Rent-Seeking and Inter Partes Review: An Analysis of Invalidity Assertion Entities in Patent
Law
This article is the first analysis of a recent entrant on the patent landscape: the Invalidity Assertion Entity
(IAE). IAEs engage in rent-seeking by demanding payment from patent holders in exchange for not
attempting to invalidate their patents through administrative action before the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office. The response to IAEs has been uniformly negative. Reflexive Congressional proposals
to terminate the IAE business model were not surprising. In contrast to the common response to IAEs,
this article discusses how profit-drive IAEs may effect socially beneficial externalities and why legislating
to end the IAE business model is imprudent.
T
Thomas, Robert & Susan Marsnik, United States & European Patent Convergence Through Shared Chaos
In the USA and Europe, policy makers and courts have had difficulty limiting patent eligibility. Europe's
treatment has been totally opaque and The United States has been schizophrenic in its treatment. Bilski
v. Kappos did very little to reign in alleged abuses and left it to the Federal courts to set limits. Alice v. CLS
Bank appears to kill business methods and some software patents. Now CAFC holdings may establish
practical guidelines. This paper exams the state of patent subject matter on both sides of the Atlantic and
whether they are compatible, predictable, and efficient.
W
Woodcock, Ramsi, Innovation and Reverse Payments
Despite the interest in social business and the legal advances, the basic corporate governance framework
has stayed largely the same. In both socially focused traditional companies and in newly formed social
enterprises, the corporate governance system is one that empowers directors, officers, and shareholders,
but largely ignores other stakeholders such as employees, customers, vendors, creditors, the
environment, and the community at large. This Article explores the shortcomings of the current
corporate governance framework, reveals inadequacies in previous proposals to focus firms on external
stakeholders, and proposes a stakeholder advisory board as a solution.
2015 SEALSB ATTENDEES
Registered as of November 1, 2015
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Keller
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groeber@bsu.edu
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lgrow@uga.edu
herrondj@miamioh.edu
hippec@wfu.edu
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lawrence.keller@scheller.gatech.edu
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Lawlor
Louis
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Leila
Lydie
McGarry
Murray
Nichols
Olsen
Kevin
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Park
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David
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Donna
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Rubinoff
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Samples
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Sprague
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Thomas
Toson
Varadarajan
Willey
Woodcock
Tim
Cindy
Mike
Robert
Judith
John
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Deepa
Susan
Ramsi
Affiliation
Georgia Perimeter College
University of Miami
Saint Mary's College of
California
Belmont University
University of Pennsylvania
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College of Business
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University of West Florida
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of Business
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Technology
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Email Address
llawlor@gpc.edu
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kjm9@stmarys-ca.edu
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areed@uga.edu
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