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2008 Past Events - Corporate Governance

Date (Media) Event

December 11, 2008
[photo-Professor Ken Scott]
Rock Center Faculty Lunch with Prof. Ken Scott

Professor Ken Scott, Ralph M. Parsons Professor of Law and Business, Emeritus, will discuss his recent paper titled The Role of Corporate Governance in Coping with Risks and Unknowns.

October 24, 2008
[photo - Ben Heineman]

How Corporations Respond to the Current Crisis in Capitalism: Speaker Ben Heineman

Currently Senior Counsel at WilmerHale and named one of the National Law Journal’s “100 Most Influential Lawyers in America” in 2006, Ben Heineman, Jr., is a leader on ethics in the profession and continues to bridge the gap between the public and private sectors. In his new book, High Performance with High Integrity, Heineman argues that contemporary corporations must couple high performance with high integrity, lest they face legal and ethical catastrophes.

Sponsored by: Rock Center for Corporate Governance • Levin Center for Public Service & Public Interest Law • Center for the Legal Profession • Public Management Program of the Center for Social Innovation • Center for Leadership Development & Research

October 16, 2008

[image-Professor Darrell Duffie] Rock Center Faculty Lunch with Prof. Darrell Duffie

Professor Darrell Duffie, Dean Witter Distinguished Professor of Finance, led a discussion on the current credit crisis. Among topics discussed were frameworks for regulation, risk management, and governance of financial institutions.

October 14, 2008

Containing the Credit Crisis: What Went Wrong and What's Next?

A Panel Discussion with:

[photo - Professor Michael Boskin]
[photo - Professor Darrell Duffie]
[photo-Professor Joseph Grundfest]
Prof. Michael Boskin
Stanford Department of Economics
Prof. Darrell Duffie
Stanford Graduate School of Business
Prof. Joe Grundfest
Stanford Law School
[photo-credit crisis panelists and sponsors] [image-credit crisis panelists] [image-attendees at credit crisis event]
Panelists and event sponsors Panelists Attendees at Credit Crisis event

Event co-sponsored with The Stanford Federalist Society and the Stanford American Constitution Society.

September 15, 2008

The Exposure Draft: Financial Accounting Standards No. 5

Experts from Stanford and other leading universities, the Big 4 accounting firms, and the Valley’s best legal professionals provided a wide ranging discussion of Financial Accounting Standards No. 5. and offered insight on FAS 5 implementation issues.

Financial Accounting Standards No. 5 (FAS 5) seeks to require additional disclosure from companies in reporting loss contingencies.  One key aspect is the proposed standard by which the firm must report a “probable” loss arising from litigation in the financial statements.  Many commentators argue that the proposed standard, by altering the definitions of “probable” and forcing onto balance sheets “losses” that may, in fact, never occur will result in the understatement of firm values precisely when volatile markets need better assurance of companies’ economic strength. 

July 22, 2008

 

Policy Workshop: The Future Role of Central Banking Policy: Urgent and Precedent-Setting Next Steps (By invitation)

Severe stress in the financial markets has given rise to a host of unprecedented actions by the Federal Reserve, including the Bear Stearns intervention, new lending facilities for primary dealers, and a decision to authorize the Fed to lend to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should such lending become necessary. These developments raise important policy questions about the future of central banking policy. Many of these questions are best considered as part of an overhaul of the complex regulatory structure of the U.S. and global financial systems, which will take time. However, there are also urgent policy issues to be addressed in the weeks and months ahead. The Fed must decide whether to extend the primary dealer credit facility it established in March and whether to make that facility permanent. There is also a pressing need to define as clearly as possible the circumstances in which the Fed would intervene again to prevent the failure of a financial institution, considering in particular whether it is too big or too inter-connected to fail. Further, policymakers face questions about how to respond to challenges facing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In addition to their urgency, these decisions will likely affect the course of the larger regulatory reform in the future. Indeed, they are the first steps toward reform and will set precedents.

This one-day policy workshop brought together economic, financial, and legal experts to present and discuss research on these immediate policy issues, with the purpose of considering alternatives and making recommendations. The workshop focused on five key areas with research papers presented and critiqued by discussants.  Based on those discussions, the workshop hosts will draft a document that summarizes the workshop’s findings and issue some preliminary analytic and policy conclusions.

The workshop was co-sponsored by: The Rock Center for Corporate Governance; Global Markets Working Group, Hoover Institution.

June 10, 2008

 

Rock Center Faculty Lunch
Presenters:  Professors Anat Admati and Paul Pfleiderer

Business School Professors Anat Admati and Paul Pfleiderer discussed preliminary research on the potential use of prediction markets for corporate decision making.  

May 28, 2008

photo-Professor David F. Larcker

Stanford Institutional Investors' Forum (By invitation)
Location: Stanford University Faculty Club

8:45am: Professor David F. Larcker presentation on corporate governance rankings.

The Stanford Institutional Investors Forum provided an opportunity for many of the nation's largest and most sophisticated institutional investors to meet in a confidential setting, closed to the press and public, to discuss current policy issues of concern to the institutional investor community. Meetings generally involve institutions that, in the aggregate, have in excess of $5.5 trillion in assets under management.

April 10, 2008
[image-Professor Ron Gilson]

Rock Center Faculty Lunch
Presenter: Professor Ron Gilson, Stanford Law School
Professor Ron Gilson discussed his recent paper "Sovereign Wealth Funds and Corporate Governance: A Minimalist Response to the New Merchantilism."

April 8, 2008

Did "Stoneridge" Kill Scheme Liability?

In January 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Stoneridge Investment v. Scientific-Atlanta, labeled by commentators as “the most important securities case in a generation”. At issue was whether third party vendors, whose conduct played into a public company’s scheme to defraud investors, could be liable to those investors in a private securities fraud class action. The Stoneridge decision lived up to its billing, establishing important principles concerning the scope of Section 10(b) and private rights of action.

Panel
-Timothy S. Bishop, Mayer Brown LLP
-Andrew N. Vollmer, Deputy General Counsel, Securities and Exchange Commission
-Professor Jay Brown, University of Denver Sturm College of Law
-Steven N. Williams, Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy

April 8, 2008

Rock Center Lunch for Students
Speaker: Andrew N. Vollmer, Deputy General Counsel-SEC

Andrew S. Vollmer, Deputy General Counsel, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) discussed Computer Hacking and The US Law on Insider Trading.

April 7, 2008

Women on Board: How Women Are Gaining Ground in Corporate Governance

While the press has frequently noted that CEOs of large companies are mostly men, what about their boards of directors? Recent research has suggested that multiple women serving on a corporate board can be tied to better financial performance among the Fortune 500. What makes women strong contributors to corporate boards and has this changed how companies view gender balance in their organizational leadership?

This forum examined the impact that women are having in the board room of corporations, as well as how professional women in their early and mid-career can prepare themselves for roles as corporate directors.

Sponsored by: Center for Leadership Development and Research, Arthur and Toni Rembe Rock Center for Corporate Governance, Stanford Center on Ethics, Women in Management, Women’s Initiative Network.

Moderator

[image-Evelyn Williams} Faculty member Evelyn Williams moderated a panel of board members and board advisors, among them two former CEOs of public companies.

Panelists

[photo-Elizabeth Davila]

Elizabeth Davila
Consultant and Former Chairman and CEO of VISX, Inc.
Serves on the boards of Accuray, Inc. and Nugen, Inc.

[image-Patti S. Hart]

Patti Hart
Former Chairman and CEO of Pinnacle Systems and Excite@Home
Serves on the boards of Korn Ferry International, Spansion Inc., Lin TV Corp. and International Game Technology, and previously served on the boards of Plantronics Inc., Vantive Corp., Earthlink, and Premisys Corp.
[photo-John Thompson]

John Thompson
Vice Chairman, Global CEO and Board Practice, at Heidrick & Struggles
Recognized as one of the most respected CEO and Board recruiters in the nation.

[photo-Debra Zumwalt]

Debra Zumwalt
Vice President and General Counsel for Stanford University
Formerly a partner at Pillsbury Winthrop LLP, managing partner of the Silicon Valley office and member of the firm's governing board.

March 20, 2008

[photo-Professor Dirk Jenter]

Rock Center Faculty Lunch
Presenter: Professor Dirk Jenter, Graduate School of Business

Professor Dirk Jenter discussed his current research on "Shareholder Cross-Holdings and Their Effect on Acquisition Decisions.'

February 29, 2008

Delaware or California: Venue, Forum Shopping and Parallel Proceedings in Fiduciary and M&A Litigation

One of the most significant litigation issues facing California-based, Delaware corporations is the question of forum:  will fiduciary and M&A litigation be heard in the courts of California or Delaware (or both)?  Plaintiffs' selection of forum will often impact the course of the litigation and/or settlement, and the increasing trend of parallel litigations (including in the federal courts) places a significant drain on both client and judicial resources.  What are the respective interests of the Delaware and California courts in hearing these cases?  When is a litigation better suited to be heard in one forum as opposed to other? Is there ever any justification for parallel proceedings?  What are the risks of separate adjudications? What can be done to improve judicial efficiency in these matters? Should the Delaware and California courts coordinate?

Panelists:
-Justice Jack Jacobs, Delaware Supreme Court
-Judge Jack Komar, Superior Court of California (Santa Clara County)
-Jordan Eth, Partner, Morrison Foerster    

Moderator:
-Rachelle Silverberg, Partner, Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz,  Lecturer in Law and Scholar From Practice at the Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford University.

February 27, 2008
photo-Justice Jack Jacobs-Delaware Supreme Court Rock Center Lunch for Students
Delaware 101: Why Delaware Is So Important
Speaker: Justice Jack Jacobs, Delaware Supreme Court

Justice Jack Jacobs of the Delaware Supreme Court, Professor Ronald J. Gilson, Stanford Law School and Rachelle Silverberg, Partner, Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz,  Lecturer in Law and Scholar From Practice at the Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford University. discussed what you need to know about Delaware, its Courts and its key rulings.

The rulings of the Delaware Chancery Court and Supreme Court set critical precedents that profoundly influence how companies operate, as well as the guidelines for mergers and interactions with investors.

February 26-29, 2008

Stanford Directors' Forum
(In Partnership with the Stanford Law School)
(Program details)

Corporate board members face new challenges and have an increased recognition of their responsibilities since the wave of governance reform swept in. The Stanford Directors' Forum goes beyond compliance to explore how directors can best represent shareholders and other stakeholders in their advising and oversight roles. The program gives participants the frameworks and strategies to understand the current governance environment and to carry out their responsibilities. Directed by distinguished faculty members of Stanford University's business and law schools, this ISS-accredited program provides frameworks, strategies, and "best practices" for structuring decisions in the key policy areas that directors face.

February 26, 2008

Rock Center Faculty Lunch
Speaker: Nicolas Economou, CEO of H5

Nicolas Economou spoke on the topic  "How the Electronic Information Explosion is Transforming the Civil Discovery System," particularly in the context of corporate and M&A litigation.

Nicolas Economou, CEO of H5, a leading provider of electronic discovery and information management services, discussed the impact of e-discovery on corporations, law firms, and the justice system as a whole, and emerging issues in the field.

February 8-9, 2008

 

New Directions for Corporate Governance
Stanford Law Review and Rock Center for Corporate Governance Symposium

The Stanford Law Review, together with the Rock Center for Corporate Governance held its 2008 annual symposium which focused on issues of corporate governance, and featured a keynote address by Richard Breeden, founder of activist hedge fund Breeden Partners and former Chairman of the SEC.

Symposium photo-Prof.Joseph Grundfest, Priya Cherian Huskins, Prof. Alan Jagolinzer

The symposium presented the following panel discussions and keynote speech:

Friday, February 8, 2008
-Negotiating Executive Compensation: Incentives and Payoffs
-Rules and Reactions: Predicting the Next Options-Backdating Scenario
Keynote by Richard Breeden
Founder and CEO of activist investment fund Breeden Partners and Breeden
Capital Management. Former Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission,
and former corporate monitor of WorldCom, Hollinger International, and Fannie Mae.
Current Chairman of the Board of H&R Block.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
-Duties for Activist Investors
-White Collar Crime: Do Victims Matter Anymore?

January 29, 2008

(1:38:00; requires Apple Quick Time™ media player)
image-rolling dice

Rolling $20 Billion Dice: The JDS Uniphase Trial

Discussion of the recent JDS Uniphase trial in which plaintiffs sought damages of up to $20 billion. Professor Joseph Grundfest moderated a discussion of the plaintiff’s allegations, the defense strategy and the implications for securities fraud litigation going forward. The panelists included lead defense counsel and the lead expert witness and they discussed implications of the litigation.

Panel
-Jordan Eth, Morrison & Foerster
-James P. Bennett, Morrison & Foerster
-Michael L. Charlson, Heller Ehrman
-Michael J. Shepard, Heller Ehrman
-Allan Kleidon, Cornerstone Research

January 25, 2008

Rock Center Lunch for Students
How the Sub prime Meltdown Brought Sovereign Wealth Funds to Wall Street
Speaker: Edward F. Greene, General Counsel of Citibank's Markets and Banking Group

Edward F. Greene, General Counsel of Citibank's Markets and Banking Group, spoke to students about the recent investments in Wall Street firms by Sovereign Wealth Funds after the sub prime meltdown and the issues these investments raised for regulators and investors.

January 14, 2008
[photo- Narayana Murthy, Infosys Technologies Limited] Corporate Governance Lunch for Students
Role of the Board of Directors in the US versus India
Narayana N. Murthy, Denning Distinguished Fellow in Global Business and the Economy; Chairman of the Board and Chief Mentor-Infosys Technologies, LTD.

Narayana Murthy, Denning Distinguished Fellow in Global Business and the Economy (Chairman of the Board and Chief Mentor at Infosys Technologies, LTD.) and Professor David F. Larcker discussed the Role of the Board of Directors in the US versus India.