Bite-Sized Business Law

California’s proposed billionaire tax is sparking fierce debate over wealth, taxation, and economic fairness. But what would it actually mean for the state? In this episode of Bite-Sized Business Law, host Amy Martella welcomes Brian Galle, a professor at UC Berkeley Law, to unpack Proposition 40, a proposed one-time 5% tax on California billionaires that he helped draft. Brian explains how the measure aims to address a shortfall in healthcare funding due to federal funding cuts, how the tax would work, and why it’s designed to prevent wealthy taxpayers from exploiting loopholes. He also responds to major criticisms, including concerns about billionaires leaving California, the potential impact on innovation and entrepreneurship, and questions about the measure’s constitutionality. With the vote fast approaching, they examine political opposition and controversial competing ballot measures that could block the tax. Tune in for a closer look at Proposition 40 and what the debate reveals about the future of wealth taxation in America.
Key Points From This Episode:
Introducing Brian Galle and his involvement in drafting California’s Proposition 40.
What Prop 40 proposes and how federal funding cuts inspired the measure.
The challenges of designing a wealth tax that prevents billionaires from exploiting loopholes.
Why California billionaires could remain wealthier even after paying the proposed tax.
How the proposed tax would assess billionaire wealth, including dual-class shares.
Why Proposition 40 is designed as a one-time tax rather than a permanent measure.
Examining whether California billionaires pay their fair share of taxes.
What the evidence reveals about wealth taxes, capital flight, and the risk of billionaires leaving California.
How a billionaire tax could affect entrepreneurship, startups, and innovation.
Ways that tax policy can address wealth inequality while supporting economic growth.
Addressing constitutional concerns about the tax’s retroactive application.
How competing ballot measures and political opposition could undermine Proposition 40.
The prospects for wealth taxes in other states and at the federal level.
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Brian Galle
Brian Galle on LinkedIn
California Proposition 40 — Official Voter Information Guide
Proposition 40 — Legislative Analyst's Office Analysis
'Proposition 40: The 2026 Billionaire Tax Act — Section-by-Section Summary'
How to Tax the Ultrarich — Brian Galle, Roosevelt Institute
How to Tax the Ultrarich — Fact Sheet
How to Tax the Ultrarich — Full Report (PDF)
'Taxing Dynasties'
Fordham University School of Law Corporate Law Center

Who decides what a college athlete’s talent is worth? In this episode, we welcome legendary litigator Jim Quinn, former head of litigation at Weil, Gotshal & Manges and founder of JW Quinn ADR, about the legal battles that have shaped athletes’ rights. Jim explains the changes his practice brought to sports, including professional free agency and revenue-linked salary caps. Jim then discusses the NCAA’s amateurism rules, the cases that challenged them, and how NIL collectives and direct school payments work. Jim challenges the position of universities regarding paying athletes for their name, image, and likeness, and explores how money is reshaping recruiting and transfers. Jim also opines on the Protect College Sports Act, whether collective bargaining offers a better way forward, and the challenges ahead for professional sports. Finally, Jim shares career lessons from decades of representing players and advice for young lawyers hoping to enter the field of sports law. Tune in to hear about the fight over who gets paid, who sets the rules, and whose interests those rules protect.
Key Points From This Episode:
Meet Jim Quinn and hear how he started his career in sports law.
Discover why free agency increased franchise values and drove fan interest. 
Learn why the NBA salary cap on revenues mattered so much for players. 
Explore what the NCAA’s amateurism rules were and why they became a problem.
Find out what NIL collectives do and how they get money to athletes.
Understand the difference between money from schools and third-party NIL deals.
Uncover why schools don’t want to classify their athletes as employees.
See how schools put a fair market value on athletes and decide who gets paid. 
Hear why the transfer portal has fans worried and whether those fears are valid. 
What the Protect College Sports Act would limit and who it actually protects. 
Whether NIL money could become part of high school sports. 
The next big legal issues in pro sports and where AI might fit in. 
Jim shares advice on breaking into sports law and his early career lessons. 
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Jim Quinn on LinkedIn
JW Quinn ADR LLC
Don’t Be Afraid to Win
Protect College Sports Act
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)
NCAA Name, Image and Likeness
Fordham University School of Law Corporate Law Center

When corporations face social questions faster than lawmakers can answer them, who makes the rules guiding those decisions? On this episode of Bite-Sized Business Law, Stavros Gadinis, the George R. Johnson Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the Berkeley Center for Law and Business, discusses his new book, Corporate Ordering: How Corporations Navigate Social Conflict. Stavros provides fascinating examples from household private sector companies who were forced to shape the rules of their industries way before the government moved. What are the benefits and pitfalls of letting corporations figure out what standards should govern them, and then having the governments simply adopt their frameworks? Can companies really exercise this influence responsibly before public oversight catches up? Tune in to hear Stavros’s opinion on these questions, why these decisions matter far beyond the boardroom, and how lawyers can help companies make the best decisions available.

Key Points From This Episode:
Discover why social conflicts expose a gap in the business judgment rule.
Unpack what corporate ordering means when business choices become rules for everyone.
Uncover how corporate business practices have influenced public law.
Hear examples of how innovation outpaced regulation and how it affected the law from Uber, Lyft, Microsoft, and more.
Explore what Stavros’s conversations with AI companies reveal about regulation.
Consider what it takes to create meaningful and effective deliberation.
Learn why Stavros wants boards’ decision-making process reflected in fiduciary duties.
Understand how his proposal would fit within the business judgment rule.
Why corporate rulemaking matters even if you never serve on a board.
Advice on what lawyers can do to help companies navigate tough decisions.
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Stavros Gadinis
Stavros Gadinis on LinkedIn
Corporate Ordering: How Corporations Navigate Social Conflict
Stavros Gadinis on his Corporate Ordering Book
Berkeley Center for Law and Business
Fordham University School of Law Corporate Law Center

Ethical lines are not always crossed in one dramatic leap. Sometimes pressure, culture, and ambition make each small compromise easier to justify. In today’s episode Tom Hardin, author of Wired on Wall Street and the former FBI informant known as Tipper X, discusses his journey from young hedge fund analyst to cooperating witness in a major insider trading investigation. Tom explains how, during his time in the hedge fund world, information advantages were rewarded, why the line between mosaic research and material nonpublic information could feel blurry, and how one phone call led to tipping, four illicit trades, and only $46,000 in personal gain that cost him his career. He recounts being approached by the FBI, deciding to cooperate, and living with the consequences. Amy and Tom also discuss the fraud triangle, the warning signs of cultures that create conditions for misconduct, why lawyers handling confidential deal information must understand their role as gatekeepers, and how prediction markets may create new risks for informed trading. Hear Tom’s candid reflections on pressure, accountability, and what it takes to rebuild after crossing the line.
Key Points From This Episode:
How Tom Hardin entered the hedge fund world as a young analyst.
Why the line between research and material nonpublic information can feel blurry.
The phone call that led to tipping, four illicit trades, and lasting consequences.
What happened when the FBI approached Tom and asked him to cooperate.
Why Tom wishes he had called a lawyer as soon as the FBI approached him.
How the fraud triangle (pressure, opportunity, and rationalization) shapes ethical compromise.
Warning signs that an organization is creating conditions for misconduct.
Why lawyers handling confidential deal information are important gatekeepers.
The need for law firms and law schools to strengthen training on insider trading risks.
How prediction markets may create new risks for informed trading.
Tom’s reflections on accountability, redemption, and the “integrity gap.”
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Tom Hardin on LinkedIn
Tipper X
Wired on Wall Street
Raj Rajaratnam Convicted 
Fordham University School of Law Corporate Law Center

As climate change increasingly reshapes the way we live and do business, companies are facing a new reality: adapting to environmental risk is no longer optional. But alongside the challenges are significant opportunities. In this episode, Adam Orford, associate professor of environmental law and policy at Fordham Law School, explores the growing intersection of business law and climate change, and what it means for the future of business. We examine whether businesses may have more power than governments to drive meaningful environmental change and the growing international demand for clean energy. Adam also considers the potential role of nuclear energy in addressing climate change, and why climate concerns extend far beyond traditional environmental policy. From the environmental costs of war to the rapid expansion of AI and data centers, Adam explores the unexpected ways business, technology, and geopolitics intersect with the climate crisis. Ultimately, we consider how climate change concerns all of us, and why collective action remains one of the biggest obstacles to meaningful solutions. Tune in for this fascinating discussion.
Key Points From This Episode:
The moment in environmental law and business that we are currently living through.
How Adam Orford honed his expertise in environmental law and policy.
Who he represented while practicing corporate law: energy developers, non-profits, and governments.
Do businesses have more power to protect the environment than the government? 
The growing international demand for clean energy.
Considering the actual impact of environmentally friendly business practices. 
How nuclear energy development is beneficial to climate change.
Why war is linked with climate change — the short- and long-term environmental cost.
What we really have to be concerned about with AI.
How data centres affect the environment.
Considering the most optimal response to the threat posed by data centers.
The democratic discourse that has emerged in response to the AI conversation.
Why climate change concerns every state and nation.
How collective action challenges prevent climate change solutions.
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Adam Orford
Adam Orford Fordham Law
Adam Orford LinkedIn
Article on COP29 UN Convention
Fordham University School of Law Corporate Law Center