Corporate Governance

Shameless self-promotion here: LexisNexis Top 25 Business Law Blogs voting begins now....

Posted on August 31, 2010
When I came back from class this afternoon, I saw this email:Dear Nancy: Each year, LexisNexis honors a select group of blogs that set the online standard for a given industry. I?m pleased to notify you that Nancy Rappaport Blogspot is one of the nominated candidates for the LexisNexis Top 25 Business Law Blogs of 2010, featured on the LexisNexis Corporate & Securities Law Community and the LexisNexis UCC, Commercial Contracts & Business Law Community...

Why I like Steven Horsford.

Posted on August 30, 2010
Everyone makes mistakes, but not everyone apologizes for them or takes responsibility for them.  When Senate Majority Leader sent out a fundraising letter that linked access to donations, the public was outraged (well, at least the part of the public that thought that donations didn't create access was outraged)...

Give the banks a monetary incentive to do the right thing.

Posted on August 29, 2010
Guilt doesn't work.  Shame doesn't work.  Threats don't work.  "Affordable homes" programs don't work (see here and here for some examples).  What might work to get banks to agree to modify mortgages quickly and reasonably?The first thing to realize is that banks are businesses...

Hey, I've never been the subject of a rap video....

Posted on August 26, 2010
See here.  At least not to my knowledge....  Hat tip to my buddy Eric Van Horn.

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Larry Temkin changed my life, too.

Posted on August 16, 2010
One of my favorite professors from Rice University, Larry Temkin, now teaches at Rutgers.  The Rutgers home page is featuring a salute to Larry (here) for the next two weeks. Although I hated to see Larry leave Rice, I was happy to see him courted by the best philosophy program in the country...

Scott Bovitz ROCKS! (As does the Bovitz-Spitzer law firm....)

Posted on August 13, 2010
So I'm bugging my friends for some samples of stay relief motions to effect setoffs and for samples of objections to exemptions, and Scott Bovitz (one stylin' dude, BTW--see here) calls me to direct me to his portal (here).  That portal has all sorts of handy-dandy links, like the one to his law firm (here), which in turn led me to some form links for the Central District of California...

Shout-outs for new law professors

Posted on August 06, 2010
Thanks to my buddy Tim Zinnecker for mentioning the advice I've given to "newbie" law profs (see here), and kudos to my buddy Jeff Lipshaw (and his co-authors, Brandon Denning and Marcia McCormick) for their forthcoming ABA book, Becoming a Law Professor: A Candidate's Guide (see here)...

Newest guilty pleasure: everything "Jen Lancaster-y"

Posted on August 05, 2010
First, I picked up Bitter is the New Black.  Loved it.  Then I went straight to a Jen Lancaster trifecta:  Bright Lights, Big Ass; Such a Pretty Fat (with the world's best descriptions of working out w/trainers; and, like her, I too now have my own "strongs," thanks to my own trainer--our buddy Jeff Monroe); and Pretty in Plaid...

Billing judgment matters.

Posted on August 04, 2010
As I was reading this morning's Above the Law post about a federal court cutting legal fees because the law firm requesting fees failed to use good "billing judgment" (see here), I felt particularly vindicated by the Court's discussion of reasonableness...

Reason number n why Andy Morriss and Bill Henderson rock.

Posted on August 02, 2010
Over at the Legal Profession Blog, Bill Henderson has posted an explanation of what it would take for Stanford Law School to overtake Yale in the U.S. News rankings (see here).  In this post, Bill explains that he and Andy Morriss create an annual simulation model of those rankings, and that this model has helped them figure out what Stanford would have to do in order to become #1 in the rankings...

Two great "reads" in today's Wall Street Journal

Posted on July 24, 2010
One story about my buddy Randy Barnett (here) and one about what we should learn from Shirley Sherrod's story (here).

I am addicted to "Old Spice Man" and the parodies of his commercials.

Posted on July 21, 2010
I love Old Spice Man (see him here).  I also love the parodies of the Old Spice commercials (see here).

To all "we didn't really land on the moon" doubters

Posted on July 19, 2010
Mythbusters busted your myth (see herehttp://www.yourdiscovery.com/web/shows/mythbusters-nasa/).

We're number 11 (and not in the Spinal Tap sense....) (click on this heading for the Spinal Tap reference)

Posted on July 16, 2010
See here.  And, no, I'm not endorsing any online degree programs.  I don't know anything about that site.

Bravo to my cousin Tobi!

Posted on July 14, 2010
See this article (here), discussing Tobi's Sky and Water Meditation exhibit.  For more on Tobi, see here.  For more on my cousin Nessa, who married Tobi, see here.  Not only do I love Tobi for appreciating Nessa and raising a wonderful family with her (and, of course, for his talent), but I remember how quickly Tobi and my hubby Jeff hit it off...

Which Weapon of Choice video is better?

Posted on July 10, 2010
This new Kia commercial (see here) is great, but then, so's Fatboy Slim's original music video with Christopher Walken (see here).  (Yes, I know--one link has some delays, but trust me, both links are worth watching.)For me, the win goes to Christopher Walken, who's an all-around amazing performer...

I want my commas back.

Posted on July 10, 2010
For years, I've been one of those truly obnoxious people pointing out grammatical errors and typos in signs.  Sometimes, I've even surreptitiously (and not so surreptitiously) erased such glaring errors as misused apostrophes.  When asked, I've explained that no one can make a noun plural by adding an apostrophe and an "s" and that "its" really does mean something different from "it's...

Why I love the Luxor Las Vegas

Posted on July 04, 2010
I had a gathering for some friends this week, and I talked with Felix Rappaport about how to make the event really memorable.  Felix introduced me to Jean George and Linda Kelly, both of whom took my breath away with the amount of spoiling they did:  a breathtaking room, two great cabanas, and champagne and snacks...

Have you no sense of decency, Mr. Farrakhan?

Posted on June 30, 2010
I was not surprised but saddened by the latest venom spewing from Louis Farrakhan (see here).  He ignores the long history of Jews being deeply involved in the civil rights movement and regurgitates the hoary old saw about Jews "sitting on top of the world in power, with riches and influences ...

Kudos to two hotels with great customer service.

Posted on June 26, 2010
I've been impressed with the exceptional level of customer service at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis and the the Omni Bayfront in Corpus Christi.  It's nice to be able to give customer service kudos from time to time.

Another sign I love.

Posted on June 26, 2010
Hat tip to Cathy Glaze for spotting it.

More shameless self-promotion.

Posted on June 25, 2010
See here.

Every now and then, one of my research areas crops up in other blogs.

Posted on June 25, 2010
See here.  Hat tip to original post (here) at Legal Ethics Forum.Oh, and that whole thing about when conflicts counsel should or shouldn't be used?  See here, here, and here.Having courts think clearly about conflicts of interest in bankruptcy cases?  Wonderful...

Best sign at a conference. Ever.

Posted on June 25, 2010
(Seen while walking through a hotel on the way to another conference.)  That is one enthusiastic registration desk....

Told you so (Skilling conviction overturned).

Posted on June 24, 2010
See here.  Opinion is here.  My prior post is here.

Joe Nocera on the difference between two corporate cultures

Posted on June 22, 2010
See here.  This is a great illustration of why cultures can create crises or do their darnedest to prevent them.

Good commencement speeches...

Posted on June 22, 2010
Over at the New York Times (here).  My favorite? Mike MoncriefMayor, Fort Worth, Tex.Texas Christian University Never be afraid to try something new. Remember: Noah had never built an ark, but it was a large group of professionals that built the Titanic...

For teachers everywhere....

Posted on June 22, 2010
(If you can't see the whole thing, click on the cartoon.)  Hat tip to comics.com.

Do law school grades mean anything?

Posted on June 22, 2010
This morning's New York Times has a front-page article (here) about law schools raising their curves to make their students more attractive as job applicants.  (Hat tip to Scott Unger and my dad.)That change reminds me of Ellen Degeneres's routine about the difference between "upright" and "reclined" on airplane seats (here)...

Update on prior post: and a hat tip to Bankruptcy Law Network

Posted on June 18, 2010
Thanks to Russ DeMott for this great post (here).  I like Russ's bankruptcy posts so much that I'm going to add him to my iGoogle page.

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