Bite-Sized Business Law

There is one thing that Vladimir Putin cannot tolerate, and that is betrayal (at least according to his autobiography). So when former Wagner Group leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, led a short-lived mutiny against the authoritarian Russian president and emerged relatively unscathed, many experts were left wondering what Putin’s long-term retribution strategy would be. After two months of speculation, Pu...

Corporate compliance, the notion that businesses must adhere to all applicable laws, regulations, and company policies, is a growing discipline. In this episode, we discuss the ever-increasing focus on corporate compliance with guest Barbara-Ann Boehler. Barbara is the Senior Director of the Program on Corporate Ethics and Compliance at Fordham Law School. She is also an experienced attorney, form...

Not all law students go on to practice law. During this episode, we host Brian Koppelman, who took his legal training in a totally different direction. He is the writer, director, producer, and showrunner behind some of pop culture’s most enduring works, including Oceans 13, Rounders, and the hit series Billions. Brian is a podcast host and a Fordham Law graduate who cites his legal experience as...

Getting verified information about current affairs in Russia has become increasingly challenging. Media shutdowns and an over-reliance on difficult-to-access sources mean that even experts are struggling to assess exactly what is going on within the country’s borders. Joining us today to discuss the current state of Russia and Vladimir Putin's corporate takeover of the Wagner group is Peter C...

Today we sit down with Joseph Sponholz, Fordham Law alumnus (‘97) and partner at L.E.K. Consulting, to talk about a question applicable to companies of all sizes: how to make the most of the current moment in the corporate landscape. Before taking up his roles as Managing Director, Partner, and Head of Major Capital Projects at L.E.K. in Australia, Joe practiced law in the U.S. where he represente...

Roy Strom began his career as a sports writer, but when he was exposed to the world of legal journalism, he realized that was where he belonged! Growing up in a family of business owners, Roy has always been interested in how businesses run, and today he is the author of Bloomberg’s Big Law Business column, which covers the culture and economics surrounding the business of big law. In this episode...

Are you ready to geek out on bankruptcy law? In this episode, Brook Gotberg, Professor of Law at BYU Law, joins Amy and Richard to discuss the controversial third-party release that has been granted to the Sackler family (the owners of pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma) by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Brook starts off by explaining the origins of the opioid crisis and Purdue Pharma’s in...

At the 38th American Bar Association National Institute on White Collar Crime, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco remarked that the DOJ will “zealously pursue corporate crime” and “hold wrongdoers accountable, no matter how prominent or powerful they are.” With this, the DOJ ushered in policy changes in prosecuting corporate crime, and today Christopher Conniff joins us to explain these changes....

Today we are joined by internationally renowned equity crowdfunding expert Andrew Schwartz to discuss alternative routes of raising capital outside the typical venture capital model. Andrew is a Professor of Law at the University of Colorado Law School and a prolific writer, with his latest offering his new book, Investment Crowdfunding . In this episode, he gives us a thorough breakdown of what i...

Now that a deal in principle has been reached to suspend the debt limit before the United States runs out of money to pay its bills, the question is, how do we keep getting to this point? Negotiating the debt ceiling has become a given in American fiscal policy, but its origins remain mystifyingly complex. Today, Professors Richard Squire and Thomas Lee join us to help untangle the financial and l...

The Texas divisive merger, more commonly known as the Texas Two-Step, is a legal tool employed by businesses involved in substantial litigation to settle their tort liabilities through the bankruptcy process. Listeners may recognize this maneuver from recent headlines and the questions posed as to whether it is leading to abuse of the bankruptcy system. Rejoining us today to unpack all of this and...

During this episode, we go directly into the belly of the beast to hear from a tech company that survived the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. Brian Schmidt, co-founder of Hoop, joins us to share his story. Tune in to hear a candid account of how one start-up successfully navigated the high-risk experience of transferring its assets out of SVB during the weekend of its collapse. Hear what consider...

What responsibility do corporations have to society (if any)? How should they balance environmental, social, and governance factors? Here at Bite-Sized Business Law, we’ve already covered corporate social responsibility and environmental social governance (ESG) from a few different perspectives. Today, we unpack a straightforward defense of shareholder primacy, or in other words, the idea that pur...

First Republic has become the latest victim of the banking crisis. In this episode, Richard Squire, Professor of Law, business law scholar, and the Fordham Corporate Law Center director, explains why. Richard provides insights into what led to First Republic's collapse and how it differs from what happened with Silicon Valley Bank. He also discusses the true nature of the riskiness of interes...

Elon Musk's Twitter takeover isn’t new news, yet it seems to perpetually be in the news. In this episode, we are joined by former litigator and Professor of Law at the University of Houston Law School, Robert Ragazzo to talk about the legal aspects of Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition. Bob is somewhat of an expert on how it’s all unfolding and today, we hear his insights on the evolution of Twi...

On this episode, business and regulatory expert Donna Redel joins us to discuss the messy and debated business of regulating crypto. Donna is the former Managing Director of the World Economic Forum and the first woman to chair the United States Commodity Exchange. She co-founded the Fordham Law Blockchain Regulatory Symposium and teaches cryptocurrency and blockchain as an adjunct professor at Fo...

Corban Rhodes represented consumers in the most significant data breach case: the Yahoo Data Breach. He also successfully extracted a settlement from Facebook for misusing biometric data. Today, he continues to represent consumers in cyber security and data privacy matters as a partner at DiCello Levitt. Corban joins us today to discuss the broad topic of surveillance capitalism. He starts our con...

Boeing is setting a standout example of how Fortune 500 companies can implement and maintain ESG practices in their daily operations. In today's episode, we sit down with Boeing South Carolina's Senior Director of Government Operations, Lindsay Leonard, to talk about her work since taking up this position, her perspective on the aerospace industry's most pressing issues, and the eco...

Should nonlawyers be allowed to own law firms to increase capital and access to the legal system, or are there ethical concerns associated with nonlawyer involvement and their lack of fiduciary duties? On this special live episode of the Bite Sized Business Law Podcast, we are joined by seasoned litigator and former New York State Bar Association President, Stephen Younger and the founder and mana...

Climate disclosures are probably the most prominent ESG issues these days, and today’s episode is all about the SEC’s expansion into ESG disclosures and why this decision isn’t valid under the constitution, nor is it wise. Joining us to share his thoughts on the topic is Professor Sean Griffith, an expert in corporate and securities law who teaches at Fordham Law School and is the author of the pa...

During this special episode, Richard Squire joins us to discuss the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. Richard is a Professor of law at Fordham University School of Law, where he teaches corporate, business, and bankruptcy law, and he is here today to provide an overview of what has happened at Silicon Valley Bank, and analyze the elements that have led to this point. Join us to hear his perspective...

Financial litigation is a new sector causing disruption and creating new opportunities for law and finance, but what is financial litigation? What type of assets are involved? How can organizations take advantage of new opportunities? To help unpack this complicated topic is  Matt Cantor, Senior Managing Director at Pretium, a specialized investment firm with more than  $50 billion in assets under...

The rise and fall of SPACs, or Special Purpose Acquisition Companies, is a trending topic in legal and financial conversations. Why were they so attractive, and what caused some to come grinding to a halt? Today we talk about what the heck happened to SPACs! Here with us on the Bite Sized Business Law Podcast is Maria Charon. She is a corporate lawyer who started her career at renowned Wall Street...

Given the recent collapse of some of the major players in the crypto space, its future is uncertain. Joining us for the very first episode of the Bite Sized Business Law Podcast to discuss crypto bankruptcies and what some are calling the ‘crypto winter’, is business law professor and faculty director of Fordham University School of Law’s Corporate Law Center, Richard Squire. Richard breaks down s...