Bite-Sized Business Law

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

When every mass-tort claimant has the same voting power, can bankruptcy still deliver a fair settlement? In this episode of Bite-Sized Business Law, we welcome Wake Forest Law Professor Samir Parikh and Fordham Law Professor Richard Squire to examine how claimant farming can distort mass tort bankruptcies. Samir is a nationally recognized expert in mass tort restructurings and editor-in-chief of the Bloomberg Law Bankruptcy Treatise, and Richard is an expert in bankruptcy and corporate restructuring. Together, they explain why the vote is meant to restore agency to victims and how the current system can undermine that promise. They discuss traditional voting rules and the nominal one-dollar valuation approach used when courts face tens of thousands of uncertain claims. Samir and Richard unpack how low-value or nonmeritorious claims, weak powers of attorney, and third-party litigation finance can combine to outweigh stronger claims. They also explore why bankruptcy remains attractive for mass tort resolution, where its safeguards are breaking down, and what courts and lawmakers can do before the next wave of claims arrives. Tune in to discover who benefits from the current system, who risks being left behind, and how mass tort bankruptcy voting can better protect the claimants who have suffered the most.
Key Points From This Episode:
Discover why voting is vital to claimant agency in mass tort settlements.
Learn how Chapter 11 voting balances the number and value of claims.
Explore why courts give mass tort claims a nominal one-dollar value.
Uncover how courts determine whether claims are meritorious.
Examine why claimants owed no recovery should be treated as rejecting a plan.
Consider when attorneys have the authority to vote for their clients.
Understand how third-party litigation finance can increase the number of weak claims.
Hear about Samir’s proposed solutions for filtering claims and improving voting.
See how claimants could challenge a decision under his proposed AI review process.
Find out how bellwether trials could help courts value representative claims.
Compare bankruptcy with multidistrict litigation and individual trials for resolving mass torts.
Whether proposed legislation addresses the problems in mass tort bankruptcies.
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Samir Parikh
Samir Parikh on LinkedIn
Richard Squire
Richard Squire on LinkedIn
'Mass-Tort Voting Takes Center Stage'
Brook Gotberg on The Price of “Global Peace” in Purdue Pharma
Brook Gotberg and Richard Squire on Purdue Pharma II
Fordham University School of Law Corporate Law Center

Welcome to the 100th episode of the Bite-Sized Business Law podcast! In celebration of this milestone, the president of Fordham University, Tania Tetlow, joins us to discuss the business of running a university. Tuning in, you’ll hear all about President Tetlow’s life, her professional background, how running a university is similar to running a business, her mission-driven role, and more! She goes on to discuss the importance of pulling leadership from within faculty ranks before talking about how educational institutions can stay agile in an unpredictable world while maintaining their core principles. We even touch on the Pope’s insightful letter about artificial intelligence. Finally, President Tetlow shares the biggest challenge she has faced in her role so far and leaves law students interested in business with some important advice about the potential impact they can make in the world. 
Key Points From This Episode:
Welcoming President Tania Tetlow to the show and an overview of her journey.
How her career and upbringing prepared her to run a university. 
The similarities between running a business and running a university. 
Mission-driven educational leadership versus business management. 
How she trains faculty to run the university smoothly.
What higher education needs to do to stay agile in the face of political pressure, social media, and a shifting workplace due to AI. 
President Tetlow’s thoughts on the Pope’s letter about artificial intelligence. 
The biggest challenge President Tetlow has faced at Fordham University.
Advice for business law students about their ability to make an impact.
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Tania Tetlow
Office of the President
Tania Tetlow on LinkedIn
Pope Leo's Encyclical on AI
Fordham University School of Law Corporate Law Center