Bite-Sized Business Law
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Get a breakdown of the top stories in business law from industry leaders on the front lines with Bite-Sized Business Law. Host Amy Martella takes a closer look at the latest corporate happenings through interviews with the attorneys, legal experts, public figures, and scholars behind the news to distill business law’s biggest stories into bite-sized portions.
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Corporations impact us all, leading changes that extend far beyond business to shape the economy, public policy, technology, and beyond. Looking at the big picture, Amy discusses not only the underlying issues in business ethics and legal cases leading the biggest stories but also sparks thought-provoking discussions on where the law should be headed.
Amy is the Executive Director of the Corporate Law Center at Fordham University School of Law. Her background ranges from big law to government to tech startups, allowing her to offer an insider’s perspective of the issues that shape corporate actions, large and small. Covering crypto regulation to securities fraud, AI’s impact to Elon Musk’s pay package, Bite-Sized Business Law covers it all with guests of varying viewpoints to provide the nuanced analysis needed to tackle complex problems.
Whether you're looking for the latest in legal insight on intellectual property, mergers and acquisitions, business ethics or legal cases in the business law world, you’ll find it here. Enjoying a thoughtful perspective on the news stories of the moment, Bite-Sized Business Law examines big issues and delivers them in small doses.
Bite-Sized Business Law is a project by the Corporate Law Center at Fordham Law. The Center serves as a hub for scholars, professionals, policymakers, and students to engage in the study, discussion, and debate of current issues in corporate law. The Center focuses on aspects of corporate law, corporate compliance, antitrust law, and securities regulation. Through initiatives like the Mergers and Acquisitions seminar and the Securities Litigation and Arbitration Clinic, students actively engage in real-world research and cases, bridging the gap between classroom learning and practical application in the legal field.
Bite-Sized Business Law
Richard Sandler on Witness to a Prosecution: The Myth of Michael Milken
American financier, Michael Milken, has been called many things, from the junk bond king to a criminal and a fraud. But he has also been credited as the most important person to alter the financial markets since JP Morgan, with some even estimating that he has created more wealth for shareholders than any financier in modern history. Milken is perhaps best known for his role in the development of the market for high-yield bonds, also referred to as junk bonds, and his conviction and sentence following a guilty plea on felony charges for violating US securities laws in 1990. Joining us today to discuss this important figure is Richard Sandler, Executive Director of the Milken Family Foundation, Director of the Milken Institute, and a personal lawyer to Michael Milken during his criminal investigation. We talk with Richard about his book, Witness to a Prosecution: The Myth of Michael Milken, and why he argues that Milken is one of the most misunderstood public figures of all time. Richard shares his insights on key events during this era, Michael’s true character, and the convoluted and unjust processes that led to his conviction. Tune in to hear the full story of Michael Milken from his personal friend and lawyer, Richard Sandler!
Key Points From This Episode:
- Some background on Richard Sandler and his legal career.
- How he came to work with Michael Milken at Drexel Burnham Lambert.
- Richard’s long relationship with Milken, beginning in childhood.
- His response to those who question his objectivity regarding Milken.
- A breakdown of high-yield bonds, also known as junk bonds, and how they work.
- Milken’s early interest in high-yield bonds and why he believed in their potential value.
- Why Drexel allocated capital to him to invest in new securities.
- Unpacking the disruption that Milken caused and how this upset Wall Street.
- An overview of Ivan Boesky, his role on Wall Street, and his conviction for insider trading.
- What it was like when Milken was formally charged.
- The unusual amount of publicity that this case received and the implications of this.
- A breakdown of the charges against Milken, the proceedings, and why Milken pled guilty.
- Why the criminal process is not a level playing field, no matter what your resources are.
- The deeply disruptive impact the case had on Milken and his young family.
- Key flaws in the prosecutorial system and assumptions of guilt.
- Richard’s respect for Milken’s lawyers and his take on punishment for non-violent crimes.
- What compelled him to write Witness to a Prosecution: The Myth of Michael Milken.
- Reflecting on Milken’s true character as a good and caring individual.
- What Milken is doing today and his many philanthropic endeavors.
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Witness to a Prosecution: The Myth of Michael Milken