UGA CONFERENCE DRAWS NATION'S TOP CORPORATE LAW SCHOLARS TO EXAMINE PEDAGOGY

Abstract

Friday, September 10, 1999

WRITER: Kathy R. Pharr, (706) 542-5172, pharr@arches.uga.edu

CONTACT: Chuck O'Kelley, (706) 542-5169, okelley@jd.lawsch.uga.edu

UGA CONFERENCE DRAWS NATION'S TOP CORPORATE LAW SCHOLARS TO EXAMINE PEDAGOGY

ATHENS, Ga. - The nation's leading corporate law scholars will share tools of the trade with their peers during a two-day conference aimed at better preparing law students for the realities of corporate practice October 15-16 at the University of Georgia School of Law. The conference, aptly titled "Teaching Corporate Law," marks the first time corporate law scholars have initiated their own gathering for the sole purpose of improving the pedagogy.

"The agenda of this conference has been solely dictated by the 'passions' of the participants - the specific areas of expertise they can share which would be most helpful to fellow teachers," said Chuck O'Kelley, UGA's Martin E. Kilpatrick Professor of Corporate and Securities Law and the conference organizer. "The subject area of corporations is so incredibly wide ranging that it can embrace everything from the smallest two-person partnership to the largest multi-national public company and include such new integrations as derivative securities and high-tech mergers. The conference will be chock full of substantive insights into how to address these matters during the limited confines of the classroom and semester."

UGA's conference responds directly to the American Bar Association's controversial MacCrate Report, which called upon law schools to do a better job of preparing students to enter the workforce. "An underlying theme of the conference is to have all of our students leave law school and be able to make the transition in a value-adding way," said O'Kelley.

A total of 60-70 top professors will participate in the conference, attending interactive sessions in 10 one-to-two-hour tracks mirroring the diverse trends and changing nature of corporate governance of American corporations: Economics/Corporate Finance; Delaware Law; Fiduciary Duty; Accounting; Corporate Social Responsibility; Technology; Methodology; Comparative/International; Securities; and Professionalism/Skills/Making Effective Practitioners.

Key presenters include Georgetown University's Lynn Stout on "Finance Theory and Team Production"; Cornell University's Jonathan Macey on "Blending a Law and Economics Approach to Corporations with the Case Method"; George Washington University's William Bratton on "Teaching Delaware Law as Applied Public Choice Theory"; the University of Pennsylvania's Ed Rock on ""Teaching Saints and Sinners"; and Fordham University's Jill Fisch on "Understanding the Role of Securities Litigation in Corporate Governance." Also participating are William Chandler, chancellor of the Delaware Court of Chancery, addressing "The Chancery Court's Role as Teacher of Corporate Law," and James Fanto, a former Wall Street lawyer, on "When Those Who Do Teach: The Implications of Law Firm Education for Law School Teaching of Business Law." Fanto's talk will introduce an entire afternoon's discussion on development of professionalism and skills. A full schedule of conference sessions and speakers will be available in mid-September.

Proceedings of "Teaching Corporate Law" will be made available to a larger audience through the publication of papers in a symposium issue(s) of the Georgia Law Review. O'Kelley envisions the journal as a handbook on the teaching of corporate law for the more than 750 corporate law professors in American law schools.

The conference will be held in the law school's Dean Rusk Hall. Reporters may attend free of charge.

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