John Coffee Jr., LLM - Insider Trading by Congress - ProCon.org

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INSIDER TRADING BY CONGRESS

John Coffee Jr., LLM Biography
Title:	Adolf A. Berle Professor of Law at Columbia University Law School
Position:	Not Clearly Pro or Con to the question "Should Insider Trading by Congress Be Allowed?"
Reasoning:	"[E]xtending the insider trading prohibition to Members of Congress would overreach; that is... it could prove a trap for the unwary, snaring relatively innocent mistakes by busy Members of Congress. Or it could impose illiquidity on Members of Congress who would not dare to trade... Congress should not attempt a comprehensive statute defining all of insider trading law. Congress has attempted that before, only to give up. The moment Congress attempts a comprehensive statute, special interest groups will appear in droves, seeking safe harbors for their members. The result could give rise to even greater uncertainty... ...Congress should pursue a narrow, surgically targeted statute and not take on the very complex problem of codifying the entire law of insider trading. That could prove a disaster.” "Insider Trading and Congressional Accountability," US Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Public Affairs, thomas.loc.gov, Dec. 1, 2011
Theoretical Expertise Ranking:	Experts Individuals with JDs, PhDs, or equivalent advanced degrees in fields relevant to insider trading issues. Also top-level government officials (such as foreign leaders, US presidents, Founding Fathers, Supreme Court Justices, members of legislative bodies, cabinet members, military leaders, etc.) with positions relevant to insider trading issues.
Involvement and Affiliations:	Adolf A. Berle Professor of Law, Columbia University Law School, 1980-present Director, Center on Corporate Governance, Columbia University Law School, 1980-present Visiting Professor, Harvard University Law School, 2001 Visiting Professor, Stanford University Law School, 1988 Professor, Georgetown University Law School, 1976-1980 Visiting Professor, University of Michigan Law School, 1979 Visiting Professor, University of Virginia Law School, 1978 Attorney, Cravath, Swaine and Moore, 1970-1976 Reginald Heber Smith Fellow, Poverty Law Litigation, New York City, 1969-1970
Education:	LLM, Taxation, New York University School of Law, 1976 LLB, Yale Law School, 1969 BA, Amherst College, 1966
Contact Info:	Phone: 212-854-2194 Fax: None found Email: [email protected] Website: Columbia Law School profile
Select Publications:	"Dispersed Ownership: The Theories, the Evidence, and the Enduring Tension Between 'Lumpers' and 'Splitters,'" Columbia Law and Economics Working Paper, 2010 "Redesigning the SEC: Does the Treasury Have a Better Idea?," Columbia Law and Economics Working Paper, 2008 Cases and Materials on Corporations, 2008 "Reforming the Securities Class Action: An Essay on Deterrence and Its Implementation," Columbia Law and Economics Working Paper, 2006 Business Organization and Finance: Legal and Economic Principles, 2004 Cases and Materials on Securities Regulation, 2003 "Understanding Enron: It's About the Gatekeepers, Stupid," Columbia Law and Economics Working Paper, 2002 "Do Norms Matter?: A Cross-Country Examination of the Private Benefits of Control," Columbia Law and Economics Working Paper, 2001 "The Rise of Dispersed Ownership: The Role of Law in the Separation of Ownership and Control," Columbia Law and Economics Working Paper, 2000 "The Future as History: The Prospects for Global Convergence in Corporate Governance and its Implications," Northwestern University Law Review, 1999 "Hail Britannia?: Institutional Investor Behavior Under Limited Regulation," Michigan Law Review, 1994 Knights, Raiders, and Targets: The Impact of the Hostile Takeover, 1988 "Shareholders Versus Managers: The Strain in the Corporate Web," Michigan Law Review, 1986
Other:	Born Nov. 15, 1944 in Albany, New York Listed by the National Law Journal as one of the "100 Most Influential Lawyers in the United States"
Quoted in:	1. Should Congress pass the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act?