Robert C. Bird

University of Connecticut | UConn · Department of Marketing

The legal and compliance departments in organizations have more influence than ever before. Why then are companies so vulnerable to legal liability? The problem may not be with talented legal professionals, but with the lack of legal knowledge held by MBAs and other business school graduates that make day-to-day decisions in modern organizations. F...

One of the most influential cases in corporate governance is In re Caremark International Inc. Derivative Litigation (Caremark). In 1996, Caremark imposed a novel duty on boards of directors to make a good faith attempt to implement and exercise oversight over obligations leading to liability. Breach of this minimal duty has been difficult for plai...

Global supply chains enhance value, but are subject to governance problems and encourage evasive practices that deter sustainability, especially in developing countries. This article proposes that the precontractual environment, where parties are interested in trade but have not yet negotiated formal terms, can enable a unique process for building...

Global supply chains power 80% of world trade, but also host widespread environmental, labor, and human rights abuses in developing countries. Most scholarship focuses on some form of sanction to motivate supply chain members, but we propose that the fundamental problem is not insufficient punishment, but a lack of trust. Fickle tastes, incessant d...

This manuscript proposes that tax avoidance can be better understood and mitigated as a sustainability problem. Tax avoidance is not just a financial problem for tax authorities, but one that erodes critical common spaces necessary for the smooth functioning of regulatory compliance, organizational integrity, and society. Defining tax avoidance as...

Flexible work, the practice of giving employees some control over their working time, can transform the modern workplace. Once the province of scattered national legislation, the European Union is now considering the inclusion of flextime rights in the Working Time Directive (WTD), the leading EU legislation related to work time. In this article, w...

Companies have increasingly recognized that legal capabilities are crucial for ongoing corporate success, and they understand the importance of working with legal counsel. All too often, though, senior executives still view the law as a constraint on managerial decisions, primarily perceiving it as an issue of cost and compliance. But this limited...

We use firm-level data to study how local knowledge impacts the wage and profitability of commercial banks. Using a novel regulatory and competitive environment as a natural experiment, we find that restrictions on the mobility of local knowledge negatively impact the incidence of new bank charters. Also consistent with expected theory, we also fin...

The intersection of business and human rights contains substantial economic, social, and political implications. Global business enterprises and civil society groups must establish a constructive and meaningful dialogue in order to work cooperatively to protect human rights. In this innovative book, the authors explore the role of firms in respecti...

Flexible working time has reduced turnover, improved productivity, and increased morale for a large number of organizations. However, many employers retain their fixed schedule practices. This article identifies the benefits of flextime to firms, explores common organizational barriers to flextime adoption, and highlights the legal and regulatory r...

The CLO creates firm value when financial mismanagement occurs. Firm BHARs increase by 1% when the CLO is one of the top five highest compensated executives; this increases to nearly 4% for firms that have or will become targets of shareholder class-action lawsuits. We consider two possible channels for this added value: legal expertise and interna...

The purpose of this article is to suggest a path to alleviating the enduring tension between the right to food and intellectual property rights holders, particularly patent holders, of food-related technologies. After examining the role of technology in relieving the increasing demographic pressure for food, this manuscript explores how the depende...

With millions, perhaps billions, of dollars at stake in the value of a brand, 1 brand equity can be one of the most important assets in a firm's portfolio. 2 Unfortunately, brand equity is an asset that is uniquely vulnerable to harm. Firms can lose the strength, and thus the selling power, of those brands through the ordinary course of business. 3...

The ADA has recently turned twenty and the controversy over the scope and efficacy of the act continues. This manuscript first briefly explores the backlash to the ADA and how media and other outlets have changed perceptions of the ADA over time. The manuscript then examines how managers mis-perceive the ADA due to information processing problems a...

This is a book review of "Proactive Law for Managers: A Hidden Source of Competitive Advantage" by George Siedel and Helena Haapio (Gower Publishing Company, 2011). This book proposes a new approach to law, not from the attorney’s perspective, but from the manager’s. The authors show that law and lawyers are not simply a barrier to competitiveness...

In his April 2008 report entitled “Protect, Respect and Remedy: A Framework for Business and Human Rights” (Framework), the Special Representative of the Secretary General on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations (SRSG) John Ruggie concluded the global marketplace as currently structured posed significant risks to society due to...

This article reports the results of a study that uses social network analysis to compare the persuasiveness of legal precedents in the diffusion of the strict liability rule for manufacturing defects. This new study tests which legal precedents were most influential and also whether certain state judicial variables influenced the diffusion process....

Small businesses shoulder significant costs in order to comply with the maze of government regulation that impacts commerce. The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) was designed to alleviate that burden by making regulators more accountable in their enforcement of agency mandates. The RFA just celebrated its thirtieth birthday, and one of the most imp...

Firms aggressively seek a competitive advantage over rivals. A voluminous body of strategy scholarship has identified numerous sources of competitive advantage. Yet, the notion that law may be a source of competitive advantage remains largely unexplored. This is surprising given the significant time and resources managers dedicate to legal issues....

Contracts are an important construct for the formation and performance of agreements. Yet, many business people view contract review as a time-consuming nuisance or an administrative burden. Furthermore, contracts contain concepts and language that non-lawyers often find overly complicated, obscure, and unappealing. We explore whether contract visu...

The paper is a multidisciplinary collaboration between contract law, employment law and management scholars and draws from the fields of law, management, and psychology. After reviewing and noting the gaps in the employment and justice literatures, this paper presents the findings of a survey of 763 participants to measure whether certain variables...

Since the early 1970s, geographic restrictions and legal barriers to entry have been incrementally and substantially relaxed in the banking industry. States eased restrictions on intrastate de novo branching, branching by merger and acquisition, unrestricted branching, and the purchase of out-of-state banks. This pervasive economic deregulation has...

One of the most difficult challenges for drug companies has been the proliferation of gray markets. Gray markets occur when a firm’s products are sold or resold through unauthorized dealers in an effort to exploit price differentials in multiple markets. Drug firms, whose products are subject to regulation by governments interested in keeping low-c...

The United States offers some of the strongest intellectual property laws in the world. Why then does U.S. law grant such weak moral rights protection? The answer is not simply political apathy. Rather, it stems from a long-standing perception that moral rights conflict with fundamental American cultural, historical, and legal traditions. The first...

This article reports the results of a study that uses social network analysis to compare the persuasiveness of legal precedents in the diffusion of the strict liability rule for manufacturing defects. This new study tests which legal precedents were most influential and also whether certain state judicial variables influenced the diffusion process....

The necessity doctrine states that a condemnor may only take property via eminent domain that is necessary for furthering a proposed public use. With the advent of the Kelo v. City of New London decision and its deferential treatment of public use, necessity remains one of the few existing checks on government discretion in eminent domain. This art...

We estimate the effects on firm costs and profitability of wrongful-discharge protections adopted by U.S. state courts during 1977-99. By examining the data of approximately 18,000 commercial banks, after controlling for local state economic conditions, we find evidence of a relationship between the adoption of the implied contract exception and th...

Tens of millions of adults and children die each year from illnesses that are treatable or preventable with existing medicines. Each year over 500 million people are infected with malaria, and the disease kills two million people annually. Hundreds of thousands more die annually from a myriad of lesser known diseases including diphtheria, measles,...

The Supreme Court decision of Kelo v. City of New London has provoked rigorous debate over the proper discretion given to government entities exercising powers of eminent domain. Rarely discussed is the equally important requirement of necessity. Necessity doctrine requires that a condemnor justify that the proposed taking is reasonably necessary f...

Much has been written about the impact of disability laws on employers and employees. Yet there is little empirical support available on whether disability laws impact employers in a negative or positive way. We fill this gap in the literature by studying the impact of state disability laws adopted by legislatures and courts between 1976 and 1988....

Laws prohibiting deceptive advertising encourage competition and improve information quality. This manuscript examines the impact of the right of private actors to sue rivals for false advertising. Broader access for private plaintiffs enforcing deceptive advertising law is not always better, and this manuscript will account for both the costs and...

This manuscript addresses how developing countries can maximize access to essential medicines and minimize unwanted side-effects within the legal environment of a compulsory license regime. This paper offers various solutions that developing nations can implement that would improve consumer access without costly expenditures or foreign aid. This pa...

The innovation impact of intellectual property compulsory licenses - government-imposed access without the authorization of the property owner - has generated great interest in the academic literature. Moreover, recent measures by the governments of Thailand and Brazil have generated increased international awareness of the issue. Equally significa...

This article evaluates how the social structure of American legal institutions influenced the diffusion of wrongful-discharge laws over the period from 1978-1999 and assesses whether economic or political variables influenced the diffusion process. The results are surprising and quite striking. Precedents by other courts within the same federal cir...

This article arises from a symposium sponsored by Pace University School of Law celebrating the ninetieth anniversary of the famous decision of Wood v. Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon, 118 N.E. 214, 214 (N.Y. 1917). This case, amongst other advances, popularizes a particular notion of good faith in contracts as an "instinct with an obligation". This article...

Shiftwork is a dangerous and unhealthy practice. Shiftworkers are more likely to suffer from a variety of medical ailments such as gastrointestinal disorders, cardiovascular disorders, weight gain, depression, low birth weight, and spontaneous abortion. Shiftworkers also suffer from greater workplace accidents than their daytime counterparts. Yet,...

In 2003, two economists at Goldman Sachs produced a white paper predicting the economic growth of Brazil, Russia, India, and China, collectively termed the BRIC economies. This paper offered projections from the present date to 2050 relative to similar growth projections of the G6 countries. Applying capital accumulation and productivity growth to...

Much has been written about the problems of the supply of pharmaceutical counterfeits. Common topics include inadequate laws, lack of enforcement, and the absence of criminal penalties for counterfeiters. Less has been written in the legal literature, however, about the demand side of pharmaceuticals. Consumers remain both the root problem and the...

Scholars have widely examined the sources of sustainable competitive advantage for firms. Most research has focused on marketing, finance, information technology or other sub-firm business disciplines. Little attention, however, has been paid to the firm's legal environment as a source of a sustainable competitive advantage. Applying the criterion...

Although business scholars express significant interest in the sources of firm competitive advantage, little research exists on the use of law as a value capturing resource. This is surprising given that legal issues demand a significant percentage of available time for managers. This manuscript proposes a model showing how a firm can use its legal...

The United States offers some of the strongest intellectual property laws in the world. Why then does U.S. law grant such weak moral rights protection? The answer is not simply political apathy. Rather, it stems from a long-standing perception that moral rights conflict with fundamental American cultural, historical, and legal traditions. The first...

A 2003 study by Goldman Sachs concluded that in less than 40 years the BRIC economies (Brazil, Russia, India, China) will outsize the G6 economies in dollar terms. The enormous growth presents an unparalleled opportunity for American firms expanding abroad. The enormous growth also presents a challenge to American firms wishing to protect their int...

This manuscript assesses the impact of the Supreme Court decision Moseley v. V Secret Catalogue, Inc. on methods of proving trademark dilution in federal court. This manuscript surveys federal court decisions that have interpreted Moseley's rulings on trademark dilution. This manuscript concludes that brand owners are most successful in federal cou...

This paper uses social network theory and hazard analysis to evaluate the role of legal precedents in the diffusion of three important exceptions to the employment-at-will rule in American employment law over the period from 1978-99. It attempts to determine which legal precedents were most important in the diffusion process and whether economic or...

What practice has been at the root cause of some of the world's most devastating industrial accidents, costs employers $206 billion annually, has been linked to fatigue, depression, flu, infertility, obesity and heart disease? The answer is the deceptively mundane task of shiftwork. This article examines the legal aspects of employing shiftworkers...

Employment scholarship focuses too much on laws and not enough on norms. Yet norms capture the complete terms of employment more accurately than most legal contracts. Virtually every aspect of the employment relation that falls outside the realm of contract lawyers - corporate culture, office politics, trust, future planning, and the complex social...

A 2003 study by Goldman Sachs concluded that in less than 40 years the BRIC economies (Brazil, Russia, India, China) will outsize the G6 economies in dollar terms. The enormous growth presents an unparalleled opportunity for American firms expanding abroad. The enormous growth also presents a challenge to American firms wishing to protect their int...

Over two hundred articles have been written critiquing employment at-will and wrongful discharge since 1985. However, little radical change has occurred in state courts on this issue in some time. In spite of strong judicial resistance to modify employment at will, wrongful discharge scholarship is still saturated with normative criticism of the do...

This article examines one of the leading tax shelter cases to wind its way through the federal court system: Salina Partnership, LP v. Commissioner (Salina). 80 T.C.M. (CCH) 686 (2000). In Salina, Florida Power & Light Co. (FPL), through an ingenious series of transactions, "refreshed" an earlier sustained capital loss, allowing the loss to remain...

The four-day work week is quickly gaining popularity. The blogosphere is alive with pages describing numerous benefits and recommending it as a practice whose time has come. With Utah's adoption of the four-day work week, as well as numerous government and private entities considering the shift, "Thank God It's Thursday" appears poised to become a...