NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 10, 2009

CONTACT: KATIE GALLAGHER
517/432-6848, galla145@law.msu.edu

Michigan State Law Review to Host Business Law and Narrative Symposium

Corporate Law Experts and Scholars to Present Papers

East Lansing, MI – The Michigan State Law Review will host a symposium, "Business Law and Narrative," on Friday, September 11, 2009, at MSU Law. The symposium will consider how narrative influences the cultural and political understanding of business, and how narrative might–or might not–play a role in corporate law. This symposium is especially opportune given recent events in the financial world that have called on narrative as a means of interpreting what has happened.

Distinguished corporate law experts and scholars in history, literature, and narrative will present their papers and discuss the challenges narrators face in creating an accessible, widely shared account of business culture, corporate law, or financial events, given the complexity of business and the abstract nature of the corporation. The Michigan State Law Review will publish the papers presented in what promises to be a trenchant discussion of an important topic.

MSU Law Professor Mae Kuykendall organized the symposium to further explore the intersection of business law and narrative, as discussed in her 2007 article, "No Imagination: The Marginal Role of Narrative in Corporate Law."

Professor Kuykendall and David A. Westbrook will introduce this symposium issue of the law review, and provide an overview of the contributions, through an essay on the function of narrative in contemporary financial discourse. Westbrook is the Floyd H. & Hilda L. Hurst Faculty Scholar and Professor of Law at The University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, and author of books including Between Citizen and State, a theatrical introduction to corporation law, and the forthcoming Out of Crisis: Rethinking Our Financial Markets.

Keynote speaker Professor Larry E. Ribstein, the Mildred Van Voorhis Jones Chair in Law and Co-Director of the Program in Business Law and Policy at the University of Illinois College of Law, will present "How Movies Created the Financial Crisis." Ribstein's works include more than 140 articles, 10 books, and a blog on subjects such as corporate, securities and partnership law, jurisdictional competition, and how business is portrayed in film. His most recent books include Ribstein & Lipshaw, Unincorporated Business Entities (LexisNexis, 4th Edition 2009), The Law Market (Oxford, 2009, with Erin O'Hara) and the forthcoming The Rise of the Uncorporation (Oxford 2009).

Luncheon Speaker Frank Partnoy will present "The Match King, Chapter 9: The Author's Cut." Partnoy is the George E. Barrett Professor of Law and Finance at the University of San Diego School of Law. He is the author of several books and several dozen articles on topics related to financial markets and financial market regulation. Partnoy's recent book, The Match King, details the life and death-by-gunshot of Ivar Krueger, the infamous millionaire and holder of monopolies in numerous countries. Partnoy's recent research has been published in The University of Chicago Law Review and The Journal of Finance.

Visit Business Law and Narrative Symposium for more information on the symposium, including a list of presenters.

Michigan State University College of Law is a leading institution of legal education with a long history of creating practice-ready attorneys. As one of a few private law schools affiliated with a major research university, MSU Law offers comprehensive interdisciplinary opportunities combined with a personalized legal education. After a hundred years as a private and independent Law College, the affiliation with MSU has put the Law College on an upward trajectory of national and international reputation and reach. MSU Law professors are gifted teachers and distinguished scholars. Law College curriculum is rigorous and challenging and the facility is equipped with the latest resources-all affirming MSU Law's commitment to educating 21st century lawyers.

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