Jeffrey Rosen on Business Cases Before the Supreme Court

Jeffrey Rosen has turned his attention to the Supreme Court's business docket. Looking at business cases from last term, Rosen sees "surprising" unity among the Justices: 22 of 30 (73.3%) business cases were decided unanimously or with only one or two dissenting votes. And most of these cases favored "business interests," though it's not always clear to me which outcome would be so classified.

How do business cases compare with other cases? Of the 69 cases on which the justices voted during the 2006 Term, 41 (59.4%) were decided unanimously or with only one or two dissenting votes. So the justices exhibit a stronger tendency to agree on business cases than on their overall docket, of which business cases are a substantial part. And assuming the accuracy of Rosen's numbers, the justices are much more united on business cases than on non-business cases (19/39 or 48.7%).

Is this surprising? Rosen contends that the surprising part is that even the liberal wing of the Court sides with the business interests:

In opinions last term, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer and David Souter each went out of his or her way to question the use of lawsuits to challenge corporate wrongdoing — a strategy championed by progressive groups like Public Citizen but routinely denounced by conservatives as "regulation by litigation." [Robin Conrad, who heads the litigation effort at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce,] reeled off some of her favorite moments: "Justice Ginsburg talked about how 'private-securities fraud actions, if not adequately contained, can be employed abusively.' Justice Breyer had a wonderful quote about how Congress was trying to 'weed out unmeritorious securities lawsuits.' Justice Souter talked about how the threat of litigation 'will push cost-conscious defendants to settle.' "

According to Rosen, these examples -- including two from the same case (Tellabs) -- "point to an ideological sea change on the Supreme Court." Rosen wonders: "What should we make of the Supreme Court's transformation?" Rosen's hypothesis:

With their pro-business jurisprudence, the justices may be capturing an emerging spirit of agreement among liberal and conservative elites about the value of free markets. Among the professional classes, many Democrats and Republicans, whatever their other disagreements, have come to share a relatively laissez-faire, technocratic vision of the economy and are suspicious of excessive regulation and reflexive efforts to vilify big business. Judges, lawyers and law professors (such as myself) drilled in cost-benefit analysis over the past three decades, are no exception. It should come as little surprise that John Roberts and Stephen Breyer, both of whom studied the economic analysis of law at Harvard, have similar instincts in business cases.

Rosen dates the supposed transformation of the Court to the nomination of Lewis Powell in 1971, and reserves a special place in the story for Rex Lee, founding dean of BYU's Law School:

Until the mid-'80s, there wasn't an organized group of law firms that specialized in arguing business cases before the Supreme Court. But in 1985, Rex Lee, the solicitor general under Reagan, left the government to start a Supreme Court appellate practice at the firm Sidley Austin. Lee's goal was to offer business clients the same level of expert representation before the Supreme Court that the solicitor general's office provides to federal agencies. Lee's success prompted other law firms to hire former Supreme Court clerks and former members of the solicitor general's office to start business practices. The Chamber of Commerce, for its part, began to coordinate the strategy of these lawyers in the most important business cases.

All of this makes for fascinating reading. Especially the part where Ralph Nader "all but conceded defeat in the battle for the Supreme Court." You really need to read the whole thing.

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Bear Stearns

It's amazing to think that the fifth largest investment bank in the US could basically disappear in a day, or, perhaps more charitably, a week.  Dealbreaker thinks it's because they block blogs.  Here's Dealbook on potential buyers.  What are you supposed to do if a regulator?  The Fed brokers bailouts, while the SEC goes to those meetings.  UPDATE: Here's the Division on Trading and Markets with a slightly less cursory account of what the SEC did.  It still didn't do much.)  Two observations:

• It's interesting that while what BSC does is create and trade securities, it is the banking regulators who ride to the rescue, not the SEC.  So it has always been.  Should SEC officials get more of a look in?  I'm surprised to say that I've never heard the agency make that case for an expansion of regulatory turf, but perhaps Conglomerate's readers can remind me otherwise.
• BSC's claim that "we were fundamentally sound on Monday, we just got pounded by everyone else all week," is very Long Term Capital Management, no?

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Punching In, by Alex Frankel

In Punching In, Alex Frankel took a bunch of different front-line jobs with massive American companies (for instance, at The Gap, which hires 135,000 people, and Starbucks, which hires 130,000) and reported back on what the experience is like.  He rode trucks for UPS, tried unsuccessfully for gigs at Whole Foods and The Container Store, picked up customers for Enterprise Rent-a-Car, you get the idea.  The book tries to sort out what corporate culture is, and whether it matters, though you're not going to write a book about corporate culture if you don't think it matters.  The verdict on UPS is quite positive, with esprit, elan, and high tech everywhere.  Enterprise sorta comes across as a Ponzi scheme selling corporate advancement, as well as cars and insurance.  The Gap is a hell of constantly unfolded clothes.  Starbucks is team-oriented and seriously busy.  Apple is a cult that Frankel likes.

With these kinds of memoirs, with the names changed, the locations obscured, and so on, the question is often: how much of this is fiction?  Frankel's book didn't seem very fictional, but it also wasn't quite enough fun.  His totally plausible experiences lacked interesting story arcs.  It is impressive that he actually worked all these front line jobs, but he seemed peeved and/or journalistically neutral about the experiences, not lapidary and engaged.  Fans of this sort of literature might enjoy Ben Cheever's Selling Ben Cheever even more.

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Chrysler's Closure

When Cerberus Capital Management purchased control over Chrysler Holdings LLC, we wondered how the management of the company would change. Hiring Robert Nardelli as the CEO was one immediate signal that this would not be business as usual. Today, Nardelli dropped some news on Chrysler's employees:

Dear Employee,

A willingness to try something new has proven to be an important catalyst as we transform into The New Chrysler and, in many corners of this company, new ways of doing business are firmly taking root. That's not just because of new leadership; it's also a product of an "Own It" mindset. As a private company, we all need to think like owners and do our part to accelerate Chrysler's recovery and transformation.

One idea that we have taken a fresh look at is the implementation of a two-week mandatory vacation shutdown. This year, in order to create better alignment and efficiency across organizational lines and boost productivity, Chrysler will use a corporate-wide vacation shutdown for the weeks of July 7 and July 14. While some operations will need to work during the shutdown to support business-critical activities and others may need to maintain minimal support staffs in place, most organizations should use this two-week time period to schedule employee vacations.

Employees who have already used their earned vacation days, have insufficient earned vacation for the year or are otherwise committed to noncancelable vacation plans during other time periods should work with their local management to make alternative arrangements.

We ask that you approach this idea with an open mind and a team spirit. It's going to take your cooperation and teamwork to achieve success.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation and continued support.

Sincerely,

Bob

Even with an "open mind and team spirit," I would have a hard time figuring out what he is talking about. They have taken a "fresh look" at a "two-week mandatory vacation shutdown"? Was there a stale look on this idea?

Tell me again, Bob, why do you want to do this?

"To create better alignment and efficiency across organizational lines and boost productivity."

Yeah, nothing like a complete shutdown of the company to get your organization in sync and boost productivity.

Reuters is reporting that the real reason is more mundane: saving cash. But I suppose that it would not be very prudent to tell the employees, "People don't like our cars, so we don't need to make so many of them."

Regional Director

At Girl Scouts we know that given the opportunity, every girl can become a leader with the courage to act on her values, develop the ability to make clear decisions, and acquire the self confidence to make a difference in the world around her. Girl Scouts helps girls grow courageous and strong through girl-driven programs, reflecting the ever-changing needs and interests of girls.

Girl Scouts of Western Washington (www.girlscoutsww.org) is currently seeking a leader to manage the East King County operations of the council as a Regional Director. Qualified candidates will have both extensive volunteer management experience and staff management experience and is looking to positively impact the lives of girls. This is a full-time, exempt position with excellent benefits that include medical, dental, vision, 403(b) and pension.

Position Summary: Provide staff leadership and services in assigned geographic areas. Manage girl and adult recruitment and retention programs ensuring delivery methods are consistent with the philosophy of Girl Scouting. Manage the daily operation of the Bellevue Service Center, including the supervision of the service center staff. Participate on behalf of the Council in community activities and organizations to increase awareness of Girl Scouting.

Essential Functions:

• Supervise assigned staff. Recruit, interview, hire, provide training and development as appropriate, evaluate, counsel, provide conflict management and discipline as needed, and terminate if necessary. Support staff retention and professional growth.
• Recruit, appoint, train, supervise, and evaluate effective administrative volunteer teams whose goal includes ensuring the ongoing recruitment and retention of girl members and volunteers. Build and nurture relationships between volunteers and staff.
• Ensure efficient operation of support services to volunteers and staff through the implementation of an annual regional recruitment plan.
• Analyze demographic data in assigned areas and set annual membership recruitment goals for girl members, adult members and troops.
• Cultivate, strengthen and maintain relationships and assist with proposal development for area United Way and other funding sources.
• Develop innovative strategies to market the benefits and outcomes of Girl Scouts aggressively and consistently to new communities, businesses and local media.
• Actively participate in a service or community organization(s) within assigned area with the goal of supporting the regional recruitment plan through networking and partnership development of adult volunteer leaders.
• Plan and implement recruitment events, including those aimed at recruiting adults to serve as Girl Scout volunteer troop leaders.

• Ensure the racial, ethnic, and socio-economic diversity of the community is reflected in the girl and volunteer members.
• Provide direct delivery as needed to initiate new troop program start up.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in related field plus three years of equivalent experience (or combination of related education and experience).
• Two years experience managing/supervising staff.
• Knowledge of market analysis.
• Demonstrated success cultivating culturally diverse communities.
• Demonstrated success working with volunteers or managing and leading teams.
• Experience in event planning and implementation.
• Knowledge of youth development and the Girl Scout program preferred.
• Excellent public speaking and writing skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills to ensure effective interactions with individuals at all levels and backgrounds.
• Experience in development and administration of budgets and work plans.
• Availability to work varied hours, including nights and weekends as necessary.
• Ability to work from a home office.
• Skilled in Outlook and Word and familiar with Excel and Access or other database program.
• Demonstrated ability to multi-task, prioritize deadlines, work independently, take initiative and maintain confidentiality.
• Valid Washington State drivers license, vehicle in working condition, proof of insurance, or the ability to fulfill timely and extensive travel requirements across widespread regional geography.
• Effective conflict resolution skills.
• Maintain membership in Girl Scouts of the United States of America.
• Satisfactory results from criminal background search.

About Girl Scouts of Western Washington

Girl Scouts is for every girl and we are committed to serving girls who face sometimes overwhelming obstacles through programs such as Girl Scouts Beyond Bars, serving the daughters of women in prison, Girl Scouts Fostering A Future, serving girls who are in foster care, and Skills For Life, serving girls in low income housing communities, many of whom are new to this country. We currently serve over 27,000 girls in partnership with nearly 13,000 volunteers throughout seventeen counties in western Washington. In addition to our headquarters, we operate field offices located in Aberdeen, Bremerton, Bellevue, DuPont, Longview, Marysville, and Renton, as well as six camp properties: Camp Lyle Mcleod and Camp St. Albans near Belfair, Camp Robbinswold on the Hood Canal, Camp Evergreen near Longview, Camp Klahanee near Hoquiam and Camp River Ranch, near Carnation.

An Equal Opportunity Employer

Program Assistant, Girl Scouts Skills For Life

At Girl Scouts we know that given the opportunity, every girl can become a leader with the courage to act on her values, develop the ability to make clear decisions, and acquire the self confidence to make a difference in the world around her. Girl Scouts helps girls grow courageous and strong through girl-driven programs, reflecting the ever-changing needs and interests of girls.

Girl Scouts of Western Washington (www.girlscoutsww.org) is seeking a fantastic individual looking to make an impact on the lives of girls to join the Girl Scouts Skills for Life team as a Program Assistant. This is a six month long, part-time (20 hours per week), non-exempt position. Most working hours are late afternoons and evenings working at South King County Public Housing facilities making it ideal for individuals seeking a second job or attending school.

Girl Scouts Skills for Life
Geared toward girls living in public housing communities - many of whom are immigrants with limited access to out-of-school activities - participants learn life skills such as time and stress management, how to make healthy and safe choices, and how to investigate careers.

Position Summary: Assist with the development and implementation of the troop meetings and field trips.

Essential Functions:
• Help plan and carry out troop/group program, activities, and events as outlined in the GSUSA and Girl Scouts of Western Washington policies and program materials, and in compliance with program and/or project contracts. Serve as the second adult in troop meetings and events. Help obtain program materials and supplies. Help ensure completion of girl and volunteer registration forms, event permission slips, and evaluation and outcome survey forms. Help transport girls to program meetings, field trips, and other events. Participate in and on field trips and special activities.
• Help conduct start-up and continuous recruitment of all girls, 5 – 17 years old, in cooperation with agency partners and other community supporters. Help provide culturally appropriate information materials to families and girls that show the benefits of the Girl Scout program. Help invite and involve families in Girl Scout family activities and events.
• Help recruit and coordinate adults as troop, activity, or event volunteers from target families and local community. Help conduct recognition activities in cooperation with council and agency partners.
• Communicate daily with the Program Coordinator on program delivery needs and guidance.

In addition to the above, perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:
• Demonstrated ability to work with culturally and racially diverse groups and at risk populations
• Girl Scout experience helpful, but not required
• Effective interpersonal skills to ensure effective interactions with individuals at all levels and backgrounds
• Availability to work designated schedule, including some nights and weekends as necessary
• Ability to maintain current and accurate records and other required documentation
• Skilled in Outlook and Word and familiar with Excel, Access or other database program
• Demonstrated ability to work independently, take initiative and maintain confidentiality
• Satisfactory results from criminal background search
• Willing to maintain Girl Scout membership


About Girl Scouts of Western Washington

Girl Scouts is for every girl and we are committed to serving girls who face sometimes overwhelming obstacles through programs such as Girl Scouts Beyond Bars, serving the daughters of women in prison, Girl Scouts Fostering A Future, serving girls who are in foster care, and Skills For Life, serving girls in low income housing communities, many of whom are new to this country. We currently serve over 27,000 girls in partnership with nearly 13,000 volunteers throughout seventeen counties in western Washington. In addition to our headquarters, we operate field offices located in Aberdeen, Bremerton, Bellevue, DuPont, Longview, Marysville, and Renton, as well as six camp properties: Camp Lyle Mcleod and Camp St. Albans near Belfair, Camp Robbinswold on the Hood Canal, Camp Evergreen near Longview, Camp Klahanee near Hoquiam and Camp River Ranch, near Carnation.

An Equal Opportunity Employer

Assistant Membership Registrar

At Girl Scouts we know that given the opportunity, every girl can become a leader with the courage to act on her values, develop the ability to make clear decisions, and acquire the self-confidence to make a difference in the world around her. Girl Scouts helps girls grow courageous and strong through girl-driven programs, reflecting the ever-changing needs and interests of girls.

Girl Scouts of Western Washington (www.girlscoutsww.org) is currently seeking an accurate, speedy data entry star to join our Membership Registration team in Seattle. The Assistant Membership Registrar enters our membership registrations and helps to maintain the database. This is a full-time, non-exempt position with an excellent benefits package - medical, dental, vision, pension, vacation and sick leave to name a few! If you have strong keyboarding skills, enjoy a relaxed, fun working environment, and seek a rewarding job with an amazing organization, we want to hear from you!

To apply, please send a cover letter and resume to hr@girlscoutsww.org.

Essential Functions
80% Data entry and database maintenance for membership registration.
20% Data entry for evaluation projects.
In addition to the above, perform other duties as assigned.
Qualifications:
• High school diploma or equivalent.
• Demonstrated experience in rapid and accurate alpha/numeric data entry.
• Strong organizational skills with attention to detail.
• Ability to work cooperatively as part in a small team environment.
• Demonstrated ability to multi-task, prioritize deadlines, work under supervisory direction and maintain confidentiality.
• Satisfactory results from criminal background search.

About Girl Scouts of Western Washington

Girl Scouts is for every girl and we are committed to serving girls who face sometimes overwhelming obstacles through programs such as Girl Scouts Beyond Bars, serving the daughters of women in prison, Girl Scouts Fostering A Future, serving girls who are in foster care, and Skills For Life, serving girls in low income housing communities, many of whom are new to this country. We currently serve over 27,000 girls in partnership with nearly 13,000 volunteers throughout seventeen counties in western Washington. In addition to our headquarters, we operate field offices located in Aberdeen, Bremerton, Bellevue, DuPont, Longview, Marysville, and Renton, as well as six camp properties: Camp Lyle Mcleod and Camp St. Albans near Belfair, Camp Robbinswold on the Hood Canal, Camp Evergreen near Longview, Camp Klahanee near Hoquiam and Camp River Ranch, near Carnation.

An Equal Opportunity Employer

Wilderness River Trainer

We are looking for an experienced wilderness river runner who understands the concept of adventure based therapy to train our staff in concepts related to Outward Bound's philosophies of experiential education. You would also be training them in rescue techniques and wilderness first aid as well.
The job would involve (paid) travel to Phnom Penh, Cambodia and further travel to the NW provinces of Steung Treng and Ratanak Kiri to run a total of 3 remote rivers with Korsang staff for on the river training.
We will be doing very remote rivers - Tonle San, Tonle Srae Pok and Tonle Kong in NW Cambodia. There are unexploded bombs, land mines, vipers, cobras and tigers and leopards up there! So if you're not up for this type of experience, please don't apply.
The rivers here vary greatly due to the dry season vs the monsoon. In lower water (Dec-May) there are some exposed rocks and class II rapids as well as one portage on the Pok, in high water the portage is runnable and the rest is just a mellow float. All 3 rivers empty into the Mekong at Steung Treng.
The rivers are anywhere from 30-100 feet wide. So nothing technical except surviving the wild life and mines!
You will be training our staff to prepare to run trips of up to 12 people on methadone and in early recovery from drug addiction for between 7 and 14 days each, we will run 4 trips the first year.
This contract would be for up to 2 months and include travel expenses and a stipend of up to $2000.00.
Start date could be as early as November 2008 and as late as Feb. 2009.
Our staff is a combination of Cambodian Americans and ethnic Khmers. No language issues as most are bi-lingual.