From: RDShatt@aol.com
To: krandall@law.ua.edu
Sent: 4/27/2013 6:49:05 A.M. Central Daylight Time
Subj: Fwd: My work's relevance to the Law School
Dear Dean Randall,
I have not had a response from you to the below email.
I wish to purvey to the Law School community some of the things that are set out in my email. I would like to have your reaction first, but, if that will not be forthcoming, I will need to proceed without the benefit of your views. Kindly let me hear from you about this.
Thank you.
Rob Shattuck
Birmingham
From: RDShatt@aol.com
To: krandall@law.ua.edu
Sent: 3/22/2013 12:00:35 P.M. Central Daylight Time
Subj: My work's relevance to the Law School
Dear Dean Randall,
I wish to utilize the filing of
my shareholder objection in the Regions Morgan Keegan closed end funds litigation to review a couple significant matters that have been implicated in my work and that should be of interest to the Law School.
I. The oversupply of lawyers
The legal profession is confronted with a problem, possibly becoming a structural problem, of an oversupply of law students and young lawyers, and of the established members in the profession battling to keep up their positions and incomes.
At the same time, the wealth seems greater than ever at the top end of the scale.
My efforts have focused on plaintiffs' lawyers and class action lawsuits. The original purpose of the judicial branch was to adjudicate disputes between private parties, with the consequences being confined to those private parties. This original purpose has been greatly exceeded, and class action lawsuits partake of a much greater "public" character, having significant economic consequences for disparate "real parties in interest", including employees, customers, and shareholders, and having the effect of virtual legislation or regulation that governs many other actors I, and others, contend there is inadequate accountability and oversight in this "public" litigation, and society is being poorly served on balance. I especially have argued that a faux deterrence justification has been asserted and accepted by the courts.
All of this is driven by exorbitant legal fees being approved by the courts, for which it is contended commensurate value is not being received.
I believe a corrective to the foregoing would be an expansion of state attorneys general offices to supplant plaintiffs' lawyers in taking on this "public" litigation. State attorneys general would be more accountable to the public, and a lot of young lawyers could be hired on a salaried basis if the exorbitant fees in these class action lawsuits were redirected. See
this entry in my blog.
This idea should be of interest to the Law School in confronting the problem of an oversupply of young lawyers and law students.
II. Rethinking corporate law and governance
There has been much complaint about culpable officers and employees not being held accountable for corporate wrongdoing. This flows over to the question of the efficacy of entity level liability versus officer and employee liability for deterring corporate wrongdoing. I have spent a lot of time on this issue the past couple of years. See this
Statement of project.
If it is believed that there should be greater individual accountability of culpable officers and employees, there are significant questions about how feasible that is, which in turn calls for rethinking of corporate law and governance.
That should be of interest to some professors at the Law School, including yourself.
III. The Law School's role
If my efforts are meritorious from a public interest perspective, I think there are meaningful questions about what role the Law School should play, such as being a forum for debate, and encouraging professors to formulate their own views on the issues and communicating the same in a public way, including to lawmakers and judges.
I am telling the Alabama Securities Commission and the Retirement Systems of Alabama that they should be crying "bloody murder" about what is going on in some of these securities class action lawsuits. See
this blog entry. It would be helpful if one or more Alabama law professors had an interest to speak up and say yea or nay.(in a measured way).
Just some thoughts for you, Dean Randall.
Thanks.
Sincerely,
Rob Shattuck
Birmingham
From: RDShatt@aol.com
To: jlcarrol@samford.edu
Sent: 4/27/2013 6:50:36 A.M. Central Daylight Time
Subj: Fwd: My work's relevance to the Law School
Dear Dean Carroll,
I have not had a response from you to the below email.
I wish to purvey to the Law School community some of the things that are set out in my email. I would like to have your reaction first, but, if that will not be forthcoming, I will need to proceed without the benefit of your views. Kindly let me hear from you about this.
Thank you.
Rob Shattuck
From: RDShatt@aol.com
To: jlcarrol@samford.edu
Sent: 3/22/2013 5:47:41 P.M. Central Daylight Time
Subj: My work's relevance to the Law School
Dear Dean Carroll,
I wish to utilize the filing of
my shareholder objection in the Regions Morgan Keegan closed end funds litigation to review a couple of significant matters that have been implicated in my work and that should be of interest to the Law School.
I. The oversupply of lawyers
The legal profession is confronted with a problem, possibly becoming a structural problem, of an oversupply of law students and young lawyers, and of the established members in the profession battling to keep up their positions and incomes.
At the same time, the wealth seems greater than ever at the top end of the scale.
My efforts have focused on plaintiffs' lawyers and class action lawsuits. The original purpose of the judicial branch was to adjudicate disputes between private parties, with the consequences being confined to those private parties. This original purpose has been greatly exceeded, and class action lawsuits partake of a much greater "public" character, having significant economic consequences for disparate "real parties in interest", including employees, customers, and shareholders, and having the effect of virtual legislation or regulation that governs many other actors. I, and others, contend there is inadequate accountability and oversight in this "public" litigation, and society is being poorly served on balance. I especially have argued that a faux deterrence justification has been asserted and accepted by the courts.
All of this is driven by exorbitant legal fees being approved by the courts, for which it is contended commensurate value is not being received.
I believe a corrective to the foregoing would be an expansion of state attorneys general offices to supplant plaintiffs' lawyers in taking on this "public" litigation. State attorneys general would be more accountable to the public, and a lot of young lawyers could be hired on a salaried basis if the exorbitant fees in these class action lawsuits were redirected. See
this entry in my blog.
This idea should be of interest to the Law School in confronting the problem of an oversupply of young lawyers and law students.
II. Rethinking corporate law and governance
There has been much complaint about culpable officers and employees not being held accountable for corporate wrongdoing. This flows over to the question of the efficacy of entity level liability versus officer and employee liability for deterring corporate wrongdoing. I have spent a lot of time on this issue the past couple of years. See this
Statement of project.
If it is believed that there should be greater individual accountability of culpable officers and employees, there are significant questions about how feasible that is, which in turn calls for rethinking of corporate law and governance.
That should be of interest to some professors at the Law School.
III. The Law School's role
If my efforts are meritorious from a public interest perspective, I think there are meaningful questions about what role the Law School should play, such as being a forum for debate, and encouraging professors to formulate their own views on the issues and communicating the same in a public way, including to lawmakers and judges.
I am telling the Alabama Securities Commission and the Retirement Systems of Alabama that they should be crying "bloody murder" about what is going on in some of these securities class action lawsuits. See
this blog entry. It would be helpful if one or more Cumberland law professors had an interest to speak up and say yea or nay.(in a measured way).
Just some thoughts for you, Dean Carroll.
Thanks.
Sincerely,
Rob Shattuck
