Christopher Edley, Melissa Murray, William Fernholz Praise Sotomayor and Moot Court Judges

-San Francisco Business Times, January 11, 2011
http://bit.ly/gby3zt

Christopher Edley, dean of Cal’s law school, said: “These are three extraordinary jurists.”

Melissa Murray, an assistant professor at the school who once clerked for Sotomayor, said: “She is a role model for any student engaged in the study and practice of law.”

-Bay City News, January 12, 2011
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_17077548

“I believe that over the next 20 years Justice Sotomayor will emerge as a truly central figure in American jurisprudence; she’s that good,” Edley said. “Our students will carry this memory with them for the rest of their lives.”

“Justice Sotomayor is extraordinarily charismatic and uniquely alive in her questioning during oral arguments at the Supreme Court,” said William Fernholz, a faculty member who directs the school’s appellate program.

Robert Bartlett Says Firms Comply with Sarbanes-Oxley

New York Times, January 11, 2011 by Steven M. Davidoff
http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/01/11/with-facebook-debate-renews-over-i-p-o-regulation/

In one study, Robert Bartlett, a Berkeley law professor, found that the overwhelming majority of companies bought by private equity firms still voluntarily complied with the provisions of Sarbanes-Oxley in order to issue debt to finance these acquisitions. In other words, investors liked the requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley, and companies willingly complied when they did not need to.

Jesse Choper Sees Value in Clemency

Los Angeles Times, January 10, 2011 by Carol J. Williams
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-pardon-power-20110111,0,671424.story

“In the main, it gives people who are convicted of a crime yet one more opportunity to get a government office to review it and make a determination whether the sentence is unjustified or excessive,” said Jesse Choper, a constitutional law professor at UC Berkeley’s Boalt School of Law. “Very often there has been no legal error but nonetheless it may seem unjust.”

Ian Haney-López Opposes Move to Restrict Birthright Citizenship

New American Media, January 8, 2011 by Ian Haney-López
http://newamericamedia.org/2011/01/op-ed.php

Under U.S. constitutional law, children born here are citizens here, irrespective of their parents’ citizenship. Seeking to end this purported outrage, Arizona and other states have announced plans to challenge this right…. Key to whipping up populist fervor is the specter of the “anchor baby”: the child born here to noncitizen parents, ostensibly as part of a nefarious plot to establish roots in this country.

Eric Talley Predicts SEC Review of Goldman Sachs-Facebook Deal

American Public Media, Marketplace, January 5, 2011 by Stacey Vanek Smith
http://bit.ly/h6Noo0

“The SEC undoubtedly is going to be kicking the tires of this deal, and they’re probably going to be doing so for a number of months. This is in part because they are wary of the possibility that down the road you’re going to see many, many more deals that are mimicking this exact structure.”

Mary Ann Mason Wants Universities to Adopt Family-Friendly Policies

-The New York Times, January 5, 2011 by Steven Greenhouse
http://nyti.ms/eNm0Xg

Thanks in large part to such policies, Professor Mason said, 64 percent of assistant professors in the University of California system have children, up from 27 percent in 2003. “It shows that you can change the workplace culture,” she said.

-The Chronicle of Higher Education, January 12, 2011 by Mary Ann Mason
http://chronicle.com/article/How-to-Change-Workplace/125894/

At Berkeley we have tried to break the cycle of low participation and fatherhood avoidance with several initiatives that expand family-responsive policies…. Culture does not change easily, but there are early signs of improvement here.