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.
This is your chance to go further into the world of business law and stay up to date with legal cases and industry trends.
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
FTX, Fraud, and the Fight for Redemption: Sam Bankman-Fried's Appeal
The rise and fall of FTX remains one of the most shocking financial scandals in modern history, and the story is far from over. In this special live episode of Bite-Sized Business Law, host Amy Martella moderates a discussion on FTX, fraud, and the fight for redemption, examining what Sam Bankman-Fried’s ongoing appeal could mean for his legacy and for crypto itself. Joining the panel are Richard Squire, Fordham Law professor and bankruptcy expert; Jennifer Taub, Wayne State Law professor and author on white-collar crime; and Jonathan Jones, Emmy Award-winning investigative journalist with The Center for Investigative Reporting. Together, they revisit how a single tweet triggered FTX’s collapse, the governance failures that let it happen, and the overlapping bankruptcy and criminal cases that followed. The panel then unpacks Bankman-Fried’s appeal, including claims of judicial bias, mishandled evidence, and a defense arguing he acted in good faith, believing no one would lose money in the long term. Closing with lessons for investors, lawyers, and regulators alike, the conversation explores whether redemption is possible when trust and billions of dollars have been “lost.” Tune in for a sharp, timely look at the legal and moral fallout of the FTX saga.
Key Points From This Episode:
- Jonathan’s reporting on Bankman-Fried and what prompted his investigations.
- How and why FTX entered bankruptcy under the guidance of Sullivan & Cromwell.
- An outline of Bankman-Fried’s indictment, trial, and 25-year sentence.
- Understanding the overlap between FTX’s bankruptcy and criminal case.
- How to distinguish ordinary Chapter 11 filings from bankruptcies spurred by criminal activity.
- Details of Bankman-Fried’s appeal, including claims of judicial bias and excluded evidence.
- Unpacking whether prosecutors moved too fast before bankruptcy losses were known.
- A breakdown of the “good faith” defense: Bankman-Fried’s claim he meant no harm.
- Examining Sullivan & Cromwell’s dual role at FTX and potential conflicts of interest.
- Debating whether this could have been a governance scandal rather than criminal fraud.
- Crypto asset valuations and repayment timing in a bankruptcy case.
- The costs of bankruptcy and who profits when companies collapse.
- Lessons from FTX: buyer beware, demand oversight, and don’t invest based on the vibe.
- Audience Q&A: exploring political influence and crypto’s regulatory future.
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Jennifer Taub at Wayne State Law
‘FTX’d: Conflicting Public and Private Interests in Chapter 11’
The Secret Story of FTX's Rise and Ruin Part I, Reveal Podcast