The Emergence of Law Consultants

In this paper we study a slightly subcritical Choquard problem on a bounded domain A. We prove that the number of positive solutions depends on the topology of the domain. In particular when the exponent of the nonlinearity approaches the critical one, we show the existence of cat (A) + 1 solutions. Here cat (A) denotes the Lusternik–Schnirelmann category

An Examination of Reinsurers’ Associations in Underlying Claims: The Iron Fist in the Velvet Glove?

[Excerpt] “The onslaught of environmental and asbestos claims coupled with the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and their deleterious effects on the commercial property reinsurance industry, has left insurers and reinsurers reeling. This article submits that the iron fist in the velvet glove has replaced the once gentlemanly handshake that cemented contractual relations between cedent and reinsurer. The case law reveals that both cedent and reinsurer share the blame for this markedly adversarial shift. As the cases in this article demonstrate, cedents bear responsibility for shortcomings in their underwriting and claims handling, and reinsurers have often earnestly sought to avoid settlements even when clearly at fault.

Doctrinal Issues in Evidence and Proof

The word evidence ordinarily means the statements, events, items, or sensory perceptions that suggest the existence or nonexistence of, or truth or falsity of, another fact. Thus, one may say, “hoofbeats are evidence a horse may be passing.” Proof is similar in meaning but may connote more certainty. Evidence can also mean the study of either (1) how people make such inferences (especially when conjoined with the word proof) or (2) how law regulates information admissibility in the judicial context. Evidence in the latter sense is the name of a standard law school course in common law countries and a subject that is on all American state examinations for admission to the bar. As a subject in law, then, evidence traditionally encompasses only the legal rules and regulations governing the admissibility of evidence, inference, and argument, on questions of fact, in civil and criminal judicial trials. Surprising for American lawyers, most civil law countries do not have a separate basic course on evidence but, rather, fold it into the introductory course on procedure

Improving customer churn prediction by data augmentation using pictorial stimulus-choice data

The purpose of this paper is to determine the added value of pictorial stimulus-choice data in customer churn prediction. Using Random Forests and 5 times 2 fold cross-validation, this study analyzes how much pictorial stimulus choice data and survey data increase the AUC of a churn model over and above administrative, operational and complaints data. The finding is that pictorial-stimulus choice data significantly increases AUC of models with administrative and operational data. The practical implication of this finding is that companies should start considering mining pictorial data from social media sites (e.g. Pinterest), in order to augment their internal customer database. This study is original in that it is the first that assesses the added value of pictorial stimulus-choice data in predictive models. This is important because more and more social media websites are focusing on pictures

Issues concerning web-based business reporting: an analysis of the views of interested parties

Rapid developments in information and communications technology have led organisations in many countries to consider the impact of the Internet on the delivery and dissemination of business information. This paper reports the findings of a UK study into the views of various user groups, preparers and auditors regarding specific proposals for change and newly emerging practices. Over 500 individuals from six groups responded to a questionnaire study, representing an overall response rate of 33%. Views were elicited regarding: (i) the desirability of different kinds of additional information that could be provided electronically, (ii) the usefulness of different navigation and search aids, and (iii) the portability of information under different formats.It is found that users favour many of the expansions of scope made possible by the web. A range of navigation aids, search aids and file formats are found by all groups to be at least fairly useful, especially global navigation aids. Preferences regarding file formats vary across the groups. Paired group comparisons show that, while expert and non-expert users hold similar views in relation to many issues, users' and preparers' views differ considerably. Auditors' views generally fall in between those of users and preparers. Cyert and Ijiri's (1974) framework is used to rationalise the observed conflicts and congruences of interest, underpinning clear pointers for policy-makers

Reforming Punishment of Financial Reporting Fraud

Present sentencing law in criminal cases of financial reporting fraud is embarrassingly flawed. The problem is urgent given that courts are now regularly sentencing corporate offenders, sometimes (but sometimes not) to extremely punitive terms of imprisonment. Policing of fraud by multiple jurisdictions in a federal system means that principled sentencing law is necessary not only for first-order policy reasons but also for coordination of sanctioning efforts. Proportionality and rationality demand that sentencing law have an agreed scale for measuring cases of financial reporting fraud in relation to each other, a sound methodology for fixing a given case on that scale, and a reasoned calibration of that scale. Current federal law, which controls most such cases and is a focal point for non-federal cases and public debate, is close to sensible on the first score but far off the mark on the other two. In this contribution to a symposium on Fraud and Federalism, I describe problems in present law and offer relatively uncontroversial reform measures that could substantially improve the law governing sentencing of financial reporting fraud

Responding to the Revised Code on corporate governance: UK audit committees

Purpose: The audit committee is one of the most prominent sub-committees of the board of directors, having a potentially important role to play in ensuring sound corporate governance. The purpose of this paper is to examine and discuss the behaviour of companies following the most recent revisions to the UK’s Revised Code. Research design/methodology/approach: A variety of annual report data from a sample of 50 UK companies, stratified according to size, is collected and analyzed. Findings: General compliance with many provisions of the Code was found. All but one company had an audit committee, comprising solely non-executive directors. However, in about a quarter of cases the chairman was a member, and in some case directors were not ‘independent’ according to the definition of the Code. Many companies exceeded the minimum stipulated requirements, for example the number of non-executive directors on the audit committee or the number of meetings held. Nevertheless, some companies did not follow recommended practice, particularly regarding the disclosure of information, and some explanations for non-compliance seemed weak. Implications: Compliance with disclosure demands regarding audit committees could be improved, as could the quality of explanations when the recommendations of the Code are not followed. Given the resistance of many companies to corporate governance regulation and accusations of ‘box ticking’, future research should probe why many companies do more than is required or recommended. The research should be repeated when further revisions to the Code are made in respect of audit committees, and practice in countries other than the UK should be researched to provide comparative insights

Controversial Orthodoxy: The Efficient Capital Markets Hypothesis And Loss Causation

Since the Supreme Court’s landmark holding in Basic, Inc. v. Levinson, courts have incorporated the efficient capital markets hypothesis as an analytical tool in securities fraud cases. Nevertheless, recent turmoil in the financial markets and a growing chorus of scholarship challenging traditional notions of market efficiency have caused some courts to reconsider the role of the efficient capital markets hypothesis in securities fraud litigation. This Note analyzes a question that has split the circuits and marks the intersection of market efficiency and securities fraud: how quickly must an equity security depreciate in price following the publication of a corrective disclosure for a plaintiff to plead and prove loss causation? Part I introduces the efficient capital markets hypothesis, securities fraud actions, and the ways in which courts have traditionally employed concepts of market efficiency into their analyses. Part II analyzes the circuit split regarding the speed with which the market must incorporate information into price for a plaintiff to properly plead and prove loss causation. Finally, Part III argues that courts should resist the temptation to draw bright-line rules in the context of loss causation and should engage each case on its facts by analyzing the efficiency of the relevant market during each event giving rise to the fraud and economic loss