When Tech Stumps Text: Section 11 Tracing Issues

Cornerstone Research hosted a virtual presentation by former SEC Chair Jay Clayton and Joseph Grundfest of Stanford Law School.

Chairman Clayton and Professor Grundfest discussed the interpretive challenges presented by Slack Technologies v. Pirani. This timely webinar convened the day after oral argument for this matter before the U.S. Supreme Court. Eric Bickford of Cornerstone Research served as moderator.

At one level, Slack v. Pirani addresses a complex but narrow question of Section 11 standing, and can be cabined as a controversy of interest only to securities lawyers. But at a more fundamental level, Pirani implicates the far more pervasive challenge of statutory construction in the face of unanticipated technological progress and market transformation.

Chairman Clayton and Professor Grundfest addressed the challenge at both levels, and shared their perspectives on the matter’s likely resolution.