Speaker: Professor Paul Deemer (Vanderbilt Law School) This lecture focuses on the development and project financing of large international infrastructure projects, and covers – What is “project finance” and what is not? How does a “project financing” differ from other types of financing? Why is project finance used on large infrastructure projects? What is “leverage,” and why is that important? What legal structures and documents are commonly used in project financings? Who are the participants...
Feb 04, 2025•31 min•Ep. 77
Speaker: Professor Eva Micheler (LSE) Abstract: Reliance on agency-theoretic reasoning has led to substantial theoretical and empirical advances in company law scholarship, but the narrow focus on board-level actors and phenomena has disconnected the analysis of the company from the reality of the economic organisation it is meant to enable and support. We follow Oliver Williamson’s call for a ‘law, economics, and organization’ approach, and build on Elinor Ostrom’s ‘institutional analysis and d...
Jan 28, 2025•32 min•Ep. 76
Speaker: Professor Christopher Nicholls (University of Western Ontario) In 1933, in the depths of the Great Depression, the Yale Law School and Harvard Business School launched an innovative joint program: the “Law-Business Course”. The program’s principal architect was Yale law professor William O. Douglas, best remembered today as the longest serving member of the US Supreme Court and one of the most provocative. For a short time, this remarkable academic initiative brought together profession...
Nov 12, 2024•48 min•Ep. 75
Speaker: Dr Akshaya Kamalnath (Australian National University) Governance of companies has always involved some uncertainty and technology related challenges similarly add to the risks and challenges involved. Yet, corporate governance – both the legal and non-legal aspects – finds ways to address risks and so it will be with tech-related issues. This paper argues that effective corporate governance should now include a focus on ‘digital governance’ which I define as governance of technology and...
Oct 29, 2024•23 min•Ep. 74
Speaker: Professor Mark Roe (Harvard Law School) Chair: Felix Steffek (University of Cambridge) Abstract: The notion of stock-market-driven short-termism relentlessly whittling away at the American economy’s foundations is widely accepted and highly salient. Presidential candidates state as much. Senators introduce bills assuming as much. Corporate interests argue as much to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the corporate law courts. Yet the academic evidence as to the problem’s severit...
May 14, 2024•39 min•Ep. 73
Speaker: Elisa Cencig (Norges Bank Investment Management) Cambridge 3CL invites you to a seminar on the responsible investment strategies of Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), the entity responsible for managing Norway's government pension fund, valued at over 1 trillion US dollars. Operating in over 70 countries, NBIM is at the forefront of shaping sustainable and fair market practices globally. This session will delve into NBIM’s role in policy-making and standard setting, highlighting ...
Mar 14, 2024•34 min•Ep. 72
Speaker: Professor Paul Deemer (Vanderbilt Law School) Abstract: This lecture will focus on the development and project financing of large international infrastructure projects, and will cover – - What is “project finance” and what is not? How does a “project financing” differ from other types of financing? - Why is project finance used on large infrastructure projects? What is “leverage,” and why is that important? - What legal structures and documents are commonly used in project financings? -...
Feb 14, 2024•37 min•Ep. 71
Speaker: Associate Professor John Sorabji (UCL) The presentation will look at why England and Wales has, historically, been a 'good forum to shop in' for commercial dispute resolution. It will then consider four challenges to its ability to maintain that position, before turning to practical steps that could and, perhaps should, be taken to enable it to remain a forum of choice for commercial disputes. 3CL runs the 3CL Travers Smith Lunchtime Seminar Series, featuring leading academics from the ...
Jan 23, 2024•35 min•Ep. 70
Speaker: Martin Voitko (World Bank) Abstract: The Structured Finance seminar is intended to be a primer on understanding key concepts of these complex financial instruments and their benefits/limitations. The seminar will cover securitisation trades (both traditional (or cash) securitisations and synthetics) as well as covered bonds. The presentation will further explain what different types of those trades are used for as well as provide examples of typical structures. In the discussion part, t...
Dec 01, 2023•34 min•Ep. 69
Speaker: Professor Chris Thomale (University of Vienna, University Roma Tre) Abstract: According to a widely received concept coined by Hansmann/Kraakman, “asset partitioning” denotes a bundle of doctrines surrounding the relationship of business owners as well as their business and private creditors, so-called entity shielding and owner shielding. Often, this configuration is associated with a legal entity, e.g., providing the “corporate veil” which allegedly protects owners’ assets from busine...
Nov 14, 2023•33 min•Ep. 68
Professor Eilís Ferran (Cambridge), Assistant Professor Elizabeth Howell (LSE) and Professor Felix Steffek (Cambridge) present the third edition of the book ‘Principles of Corporate Finance Law’ published by Oxford University Press in September 2023. Each of the three co-authors presents fundamental issues and new developments in corporate finance law reflected in the chapters of the book they were leading. For further details on ‘Principles of Corporate Finance Law’, please see the OUP website ...
Oct 31, 2023•35 min•Ep. 67
Speaker: Professor Marc I. Steinberg (SMU Dedman School of Law) Abstract: This presentation, based on Professor Steinberg’s recent Oxford University Press book Rethinking Securities Law, which was awarded Winner — Best Law Book of 2021 by the American Book Fest Awards, focuses on the need to “rethink” the U.S. securities laws — with particular emphasis on the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and as amended). In both transactional and litigation settings, with frequ...
Oct 11, 2023•33 min•Ep. 66
Speaker: Professor Jens Binder (University of Tübingen) 3CL runs the 3CL Travers Smith Lunchtime Seminar Series, featuring leading academics from the Faculty, and high-profile practitioners. For more information see the Centre for Corporate and Commercial Law website at http://www.3cl.law.cam.ac.uk/
Mar 15, 2023•32 min•Ep. 65
Speaker: Professor Reinhard Bork (University of Hamburg) 3CL runs the 3CL Travers Smith Lunchtime Seminar Series, featuring leading academics from the Faculty, and high-profile practitioners. For more information see the Centre for Corporate and Commercial Law website at http://www.3cl.law.cam.ac.uk/
Mar 15, 2023•54 min•Ep. 64
Speaker: Professor Wolfgang Wurmnest Biography: Wolfgang Wurmnest is a full professor of law at the University of Hamburg since 2021. Previously he served as a full professor at the Universities of Augsburg (2013–2021) and Hanover (2009–2013), and as a Senior Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute of Private International and Comparative Law, Hamburg (2004–2008). He was a visiting scholar in Foggia, Lyon, Hanoi and (from September 2022 onwards) Cambridge. His main fields of research are com...
Mar 09, 2023•33 min•Ep. 63
Speaker: Professor Jorge Feliu Rey (University Carlos III of Madrid) Commentator: Professor Hugh Beale (University of Warwick) Held in collaboration with CPLC. 3CL runs the 3CL Travers Smith Lunchtime Seminar Series, featuring leading academics from the Faculty, and high-profile practitioners. The Cambridge Private Law Centre acknowledges with gratitude the generous financial support of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP and of South Square. This entry provides an audio source for iTunes....
Feb 28, 2023•44 min
Speaker: Professor Teresa Rodríguez de las Heras Ballell (University Carlos III of Madrid) Held jointly with the Cambridge Private Law Centre. Biography: Professor Rodriguez de las Heras Ballell is Professor of Commercial Law, Carlos III University of Madrid, Spain. She works extensively in the area of AI, the digital economy and fintech, and is a member of EU Expert Groups on Liability for AI and other emerging technologies, on the Platform Economy and on Model Contract Terms for B2B Data Shari...
Nov 29, 2022•40 min
Speaker: Professor Simon Witney (Travers Smith, LSE) The EU and, more recently, the UK have introduced very significant new sustainable finance regulation in recent years, most notably the SFDR (Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation), the Green Taxonomy and mandatory TCFD (Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures) reporting. Simon will explain what these regulations are seeking to achieve, how they apply in private markets and assess whether they are achieving their objectives. Bio...
Nov 16, 2022•51 min
Speaker: Professor Luca Enriques (University of Oxford) Biography: Luca Enriques is the Professor of Corporate Law at the University of Oxford Faculty of Law, a Research Fellow at the European Corporate Governance Institute (where he also chairs the Research Committee and is a member of the board) and a Fellow Academic Member of the European Banking Institute (where he also co-chairs the Fintech Working Group). He has published widely in the fields of comparative corporate law, securities regula...
Oct 11, 2022•34 min
Speaker: Professor Alberto Saiz Garitaonandia (University of the Basque Country) Among some other problems, due to court congestion and case backlog, many judicial systems are seen as slow and unable to offer a response to the citizen´s demands in a reasonable time. The limitations and restrictions implemented by the different governments during the Covid 19 pandemic crisis have exacerbated the previous concern, but at the same time has shown how new technologies, such as videoconferencing, can ...
Mar 08, 2022•32 min
Professor Jens Frankenreiter (Washington University in St Louis) gave a lunchtime seminar entitled "Cleaning of Corporate Governance" on 22 February 2022 as a guest of 3CL (The Centre for Corporate and Commercial Law). Abstract: Although empirical scholarship dominates the field of law and finance, much of it shares a common vulnerability: an abiding faith in the accuracy and integrity of a small, specialized collection of corporate governance data. In this paper, we unveil a novel collection of...
Feb 23, 2022•27 min
Professor Ignacio Tirado of UNIDROIT and Universidad Autónoma Madrid, gave a lunchtime seminar entitled "Deconstructing Insolvency Law: Towards a Bespoke Treatment of Business Financial Distress" on 8 February 2022 as a guest of 3CL (The Centre for Corporate and Commercial Law). 3CL Seminars are kindly supported by Travers Smith. For more information see the Centre for Corporate and Commercial Law website at http://www.3cl.law.cam.ac.uk/
Feb 22, 2022•46 min
This was a joint 3CL/Cambridge Private Law Centre event. Additive layer manufacturing, better known as 3D-printing, is a manufacturing technology which has been evolving steadily over the last few decades, and has now advanced to the point where it can make the leap from niche technology to mainstream application. Its potential is such that it could change where and the manner in which many types of goods are produced. An interesting aspect of 3D-printing is that it allows for the unbundling of ...
Feb 22, 2022•38 min
Speaker: Professor Ignacio Tirado (UNIDROIT, Universidad Autónoma Madrid) 3CL runs the 3CL Travers Smith Lunchtime Seminar Series, featuring leading academics from the Faculty, and high-profile practitioners. For more information see: https://www.3cl.law.cam.ac.uk/centre-activities
Feb 16, 2022•57 min
Chris Hale (Chair Emeritus of Travers Smith) gave a lecture entitled 'Private Equity: Its place in corporate finance and how it works' on 28 February 2020 at the Faculty of Law as a guest of 3CL. This lecture by Chris Hale, Chair Emeritus of Travers Smith, will explore the economic and legal aspects of private equity, reflecting on its global reach, its growth from its origins in venture capital, and its importance in the context of M&A. As well as an in-depth analysis of the legal structure, he...
Feb 28, 2020•1 hr 58 min
Ryan Abbott (University of Surrey) gave a lecture entitled 'The Principle of AI Legal Neutrality' on 25 February 2020 at the Faculty of Law as a guest of 3CL. AI and people do not compete on a level-playing field. From a safety perspective, AI may be the best choice for driving a vehicle, but laws often prohibit driverless vehicles. At the same time, a person may be better at providing customer service, but a business may automate because it saves on taxes. AI may be better at helping companies ...
Feb 25, 2020•32 min
Jon Lukomnik (Sinclair Capital & IRRC Institute) gave a lecture entitled 'Blackrock's Environmental Activism: The Third Stage of Corporate Governance' on 4 February 2020 at the Faculty of Law as a guest of 3CL. For more information see the Centre for Corporate and Commercial Law website at http://www.3cl.law.cam.ac.uk/
Feb 04, 2020•36 min
Dr Suren Gomtsian (University of Leeds) gave a lecture entitled 'Shareholder Engagement by Large Institutional Investors' on 28 January 2020 at the Faculty of Law as a guest of 3CL. For more information see the Centre for Corporate and Commercial Law website at http://www.3cl.law.cam.ac.uk/
Jan 28, 2020•41 min
Professor Howell E. Jackson (Harvard Law School) gave a lecture entitled ""Nobody is Proud of Soft Dollars": A Critical Review of Excess Brokerage Commissions in the United States and the Significance of Recent MiFID II Reforms in the European Union" on 21 October 2019 at the Faculty of Law as a guest of 3CL. For more information see the Centre for Corporate and Commercial Law website at http://www.3cl.law.cam.ac.uk/
Oct 21, 2019•45 min
Professor Andrew Keay & Professor Joan Loughrey (University of Leeds, UK) gave a lecture entitled "Should Judges Review Directors’ Business Judgment(s)?" on 21 February 2019 at the Faculty of Law as guests of 3CL. Directors are rarely held legally accountable for decisions that have poor outcomes. A key reason is that courts have asserted that the exercise of director’s business judgment should be immune from judicial review. Thus classifying a decision as a business judgment provides directors ...
Feb 27, 2019•53 min
