Virginia Law Review to Host Conference on Securities and Exchange Commission's 75th Anniversary

The nation's foremost securities law scholars will gather at the Law School on Friday to mark the 75th anniversary of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The symposium, sponsored by the Virginia Law Review, will be held in Caplin Pavilion and will explore the future of the SEC and its role in the rapidly changing business environment. The SEC turns 75 in 2009.

Keynote speaker Frank H. Easterbrook, a chief judge on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, will present "The Race for the Bottom in Corporate Law" at 11:30 a.m. The event also includes presentations on the SEC, retail investors and the institutionalization of the securities markets; strategies for the SEC to survive; redesigning the SEC; and the role of New Deal Supreme Court justices in crafting securities law.

The Virginia Law Review has previously hosted symposia on the SEC at its 25th and 50th anniversaries. This year's conference is part of the SEC Historical Society's commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

8:30-9:45 a.m.
The SEC, Retail Investors and the Institutionalization of the Securities Markets
Presenter: Donald C. Langevoort,
Georgetown University Law Center
Commentators: Brian G. Cartwright, General Counsel, Securities and Exchange Commission; Alicia Davis Evans, University of Michigan Law School
Moderator: Kevin A. Kordana, University of Virginia School of Law

10-11:15 a.m.
Coping in a Global Marketplace: Strategies for a 75-Year-Old SEC to Survive
Presenter: James D. Cox, Duke University School of Law
Commentators: Harvey J. Goldschmid, Columbia Law School; William Wilson Bratton, Georgetown University Law Center
Moderator: Rich Hynes, University of Virginia School of Law

11:30 a.m.-12:20 p.m.
Keynote Address
The Race for the Bottom in Corporate Law
Judge Frank H. Easterbrook
Chief Judge, 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals

12:30-1:45 p.m.
Lunch, Stone Dining Room
Invited guests

2-3:15 p.m.
Redesigning the SEC: Does the Treasury Have a Better Idea?
Presenters: Hillary Sale, University of Iowa College of Law; John C. Coffee, Columbia Law School
Commentators: Jill E. Fisch, Fordham University School of Law; Steve Wallman, founder and CEO, FOLIOfn
Moderator: Michal Barzuza, University of Virginia School of Law

3:30-4:45 p.m.
Securities Law and the New Deal Justices
Presenters: Adam C. Pritchard, University of Michigan Law School; Robert B. Thompson, Vanderbilt University School of Law
Commentators: Barry Cushman, University of Virginia School of Law; M. Elizabeth Magill, University of Virginia School of Law
Moderator: Edmund W. Kitch, University of Virginia School of Law