Ethics

I recommend a new paper by Georgetown B-School profs Peeti Choudhary, Jason Schloetzer, and Jason Sturgess titled "Top-Tier Law Firms and Corporate Disclosure: Evidence From Regulatory Noncompliance."  The authors study compliance rates with mandatory Form 12b-25 (Notification of Late Filing) disclosure rules.  They found that companies represented by Am Law 100 firms were significantly less likely to file the required form than companies represented by other lawyers.  The authors hypothesize that companies represented by top tier firms may find that noncompliance is "less costly compared to when other lawyers are involved."  Further, while past studies have found that large, profitable companies are more likely than other companies to make discretionary disclosures, they are less likely to make these mandatory disclosures.

I'm not sure what to make of all this, but I find it fascinating.  Perhaps lawyers at top tier firms (and the clients they represent) are more llikely to approach disclosure (both discretionary and "mandatory") as a cost-benefit exercise, while other lawyers (and the clients they represent) are more likely to view mandatory disclosure as the non-negotiable that the law portrays it to be?