John C. Coffee, Jr.

January 19, 2022 | New York Law Journal

Let us assume for the moment that the SEC can require more than material information (or can convince courts that most ESG disclosures are material). What happens next? Given that the social costs of greenhouse gas emission vastly exceed their private costs to issuers (which is the point at which economists stop), what can lawyers, as specialists in policy engineering, do to bring the two closer to alignment? John C. Coffee Jr. explores these questions in this edition of his Corporate Securities column.

By John C. Coffee Jr.

11 minute read

November 17, 2021 | New York Law Journal

Trading was once pursued by retail investors as a means to wealth creation (or, at least, enhanced retirement savings). Today, it seems for many, more a form of recreation and entertainment. This transition has consequences.

By John C. Coffee Jr.

9 minute read

September 15, 2021 | New York Law Journal

Engine No. 1's victory was possibly the biggest upset since David beat Goliath, but it was a perplexing victory that is still not well understood. More importantly, whether its success can be replicated by others involves questions that have not been carefully analyzed.

By John C. Coffee Jr.

10 minute read

July 14, 2021 | New York Law Journal

IPOs can be successful (often) or unsuccessful (less common). But rarely can they destabilize an industry or imperil a fast-growing sector of the economy. Yet, that may have just happened, or be about to happen, in two long-anticipated IPOs: Didi Global and Robinhood Financial. In this edition of his Corporate Securities column, John C. Coffee Jr. explores recent developments and writes that both IPOs underline the critical nature of the disclosure decisions made by securities lawyers.

By John C. Coffee Jr.

10 minute read

May 19, 2021 | New York Law Journal

In this edition of his Corporate Securities column, John C. Coffee Jr. discusses that the current scope of insider trading law, which remains unresolved and is unlikely to be resolved by an upcoming Second Circuit decision on remand in 'Blaszczak'. He writes: The case for a legislative resolution of the issue thus grows stronger, and passage of a revised insider trading law is now feasible in view of the Democrats' razor-thin majority in the Senate.

By John C. Coffee Jr.

10 minute read

March 17, 2021 | New York Law Journal

In this edition of his Corporate Securities column, John C. Coffee Jr. discusses issues stemming from the recent GameStop stock frenzy. He writes: Bubbles are bad; GameStop was a bubble; and the influences that caused it (which were indeed new and novel) need to be chilled. But how you chill a bubble is not a simple question.

By John C. Coffee Jr.

11 minute read

January 20, 2021 | New York Law Journal

In this edition of his Corporate Securities column, John C. Coffee Jr. reviews the issues that a Democratic administration must face at the SEC after four long years of Republican deregulation.

By John C. Coffee Jr.

11 minute read

September 16, 2020 | New York Law Journal

In his latest column on Corporate Securities, John Coffee posits that a better explanation of activist hedge fund behavior is needed,

By John C. Coffee Jr.

8 minute read

July 15, 2020 | New York Law Journal

In this edition of his Corporate Securities column, John C. Coffee Jr. discusses the black letter rule that "restitution" sought the return of the plaintiffs' collective losses, while "disgorgement" required the defendants to return only their ill-gotten gains.

By John C. Coffee Jr.

11 minute read

May 20, 2020 | New York Law Journal

We have now been through two rounds of the PPP, and it is time for some stock-taking. How well did it work? How could it be redesigned to be more efficient or fairer—or both? John C. Coffee Jr. explores these questions in this edition of his Corporate Securities column.

By John C. Coffee Jr.

9 minute read