RELIABLE.
NONPARTISAN.
EMPOWERING.

  • HOME
  • INSIDER TRADING BY CONGRESS - MENU
    • INSIDER TRADING BY CONGRESS - HOME
    • GET STARTED
      • Top Pro & Con Quotes Overview Historical Timeline
    • ISSUES AND CANDIDATE STATEMENTS
      • CORE QUESTION Defining Insider Trading Insider Trading Law and Regulation Legal Loophole for Congressional Insider Trading The STOCK Act Congressional Representatives' Stock Performance Financial Disclosure Political Intelligence Insider Trading and the Market
    • RECOMMENDED
      • Did You Know? Readers' Comments Top 10 Richest US Senators' Top Stock Trades in 2007 US Congressional Ethics Rules on Insider Trading US Insider Trading Laws Potential Congressional Insider Trading during 2008 Bank Bailout White House Fact Sheet on the STOCK Act
    • DIG DEEPER
      • Source Biographies Site Map Notices Archive Glossary
  • ISSUES WE COVER
    • MOST POPULAR
      • 2020 Presidential Election
      • Medical Marijuana
      • Gun Control
      • Homework
      • Animal Testing
      • Death Penalty
      • School Uniforms
      • Drinking Age - Lower It?
      • Abortion
      • Zoos
      • Illegal Immigration
    • HEALTH & MEDICINE
      • Medical Marijuana
      • Euthanasia & Assisted Suicide
      • Vaping E-Cigarettes
      • Vaccines for Kids
      • Milk - Is It Healthy?
      • OTC Birth Control
      • Abortion
      • Vegetarianism
      • Obesity a Disease?
      • Obamacare
      • Right to Health Care
      • Prescription Drug Ads
      • Marijuana for Pets
    • EDUCATION
      • School Uniforms
      • Standardized Tests
      • Tablets vs. Textbooks
      • College Education Worth It?
      • Teacher Tenure
      • Student Loan Debt
      • School Vouchers
      • Corporal Punishment
      • Banned Books
      • Homework
      • Free College
      • D.A.R.E (archived 6/3/13)
    • POLITICS
      • Death Penalty
      • Drinking Age - Lower It?
      • Illegal Immigration
      • Gun Control
      • Recreational Marijuana
      • Mandatory National Service
      • ACLU - Good for America?
      • Concealed Handguns
      • Sanctuary Cities
      • Under God in the Pledge
      • DACA & Dreamers
      • Dacota Pipeline
      • WTC Muslim Center (archived 6/3/13)
    • SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
      • Animal Testing
      • Cell Phones Radiation
      • Alternative Energy vs. Fossil Fuels
      • Climate Change
      • Net Nautrality
      • Police Body Cameras
      • Bottled Water Ban
      • Zoos
      • GMOs
    • ELECTIONS & PRESIDENTS
      • 2020 Presidential Election
      • Felon Voting
      • Election Day National Holiday
      • Electoral College
      • Lowering the Voting Age to 16
      • Voting Machines
      • Ronald Reagan
      • Bill Clinton
      • 2008 Presidential Election (archived 1/19/09)
      • 2012 Presidential Election (archived 1/22/13)
      • 2016 Presidential Election (archived 1/21/17)
    • WORLD / INTERNATIONAL
      • Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
      • Cuba Embargo
      • Drone Strikes Overseas
      • Us Drone Shot Down by Iran
      • US-Iraq War (archived 12/31/11)
    • SEX & GENDER
      • Gay Marriage
      • Prostitution - Legalize It?
      • Born Gay? Origins of Sexual Orientation
    • ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS
      • Social Media
      • Video Games and Violence
      • Drug Use in Sports
      • Binge-Watching
      • Golf - Is It a Sport?
      • Olympics
      • National Anthem Protest
      • Fighting in Hockey
      • Pokémon
      • College Football Playoffs (archived 9/18/12)
    • ECONOMY & TAXES
      • Minimum Wage
      • Gold Standard
      • Corporate Tax Rate & Jobs
      • Churches and Taxes
      • Uber & Lyft
      • Social Security Privatization
      • Daylight Savings Time
      • Universal Basic Income
      • Penny - Keep It?
      • Big Three Auto (archived 5/15/09)
      • Insider Trading by Congress (archived 4/18/12)
    • YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
      • Watch Our Videos
      • Teachers' Corner
      • Readers' Comments
      • Who Uses ProCon.org?
      • Debate Topics
      • Testimonials
      • Donors & Sponsors
    • GET INVOLVED
      • ProCon.org Events
      • Suggest a Topic
      • Cite This Page
      • Share on Social Media
      • Volunteers / Interns
  • ABOUT US
    • ABOUT US
    • HOW WE WORK
    • WATCH OUR VIDEOS
    • FAQS
    • EVENTS
    • TESTIMONIALS
    • DONORS & SPONSORS
  • TEACHERS' CORNER
  • HOME
  • |
  • FAQS
  • |
  • TESTIMONIALS
  • |
  • DONORS & SPONSORS

  • MORE
    ISSUES
 
  • ABOUT
    US
 
  • WATCH
    OUR VIDEOS
 
  • TEACHERS'
    CORNER

INSIDER TRADING BY CONGRESS
Last updated on: 12/22/2011 11:32:48 AM PST Insider Trading by Congress Home Page > Source Biographies > >John Coffee Jr., LLM

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
  • 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?
    Insider Trading by Congress Homepage
    Top Pro & Con Quotes
    Top Pro & Con Quotes
    Pro & Con Arguments
    Overview
    Historic timeline
    Historical Timeline
    RECOMMENDED to you...
    1
    Did You Know?
    2
    Readers' Comments
    3
    Top 10 Richest US Senators' Top Stock Trades in 2007
    4
    US Congressional Ethics Rules on Insider Trading
    5
    US Insider Trading Laws
    6
    Potential Congressional Insider Trading during 2008 Bank Bailout
    7
    White House Fact Sheet on the STOCK Act
    + PROS & CONS BY CATEGORY
    CORE QUESTION
    Defining Insider Trading
    Insider Trading Law and Regulation
    Legal Loophole for Congressional Insider Trading
    The STOCK Act
    Congressional Representatives' Stock Performance
    Financial Disclosure
    Political Intelligence
    Insider Trading and the Market
    + DIG DEEPER...
    Source Biographies
    Site Map
    Notices Archive
    Glossary
    CITE THIS PAGE
    Who is the author?
    SHARE
    HOME
    ABOUT
    CITE THIS PAGE
    REPRINTING POLICY
    PRIVACY POLICY
    DISCLAIMER
    READER FAVORITES

    State Laws
    Debate Topics
    Critical Thinking Quotes
    Teaching Controversial Issues
    History Of...
    TRANSLATE
    into 100+ Languages and Dialects
    LET'S GET SOCIAL!
    Tweets by @procon_org
    ProCon.org is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity.


    Contact Us

    233 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 200
    Santa Monica, CA 90401




    Natalie Leppard
    Managing Editor
    procon@eb.com


    © 2023 ProCon.org
    All rights reserved
    Contact Us

    ProCon/Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
    325 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 200
    Chicago, Illinois 60654 USA


    Natalie Leppard
    Managing Editor
    procon@eb.com


    © 2023 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
    All rights reserved