by Seth C. Oranburg
This Article argues for unbundling employment benefits so workers in the gig economy can obtain a more optimal mix of benefits and wages. This Article also provides a framework for a more flexible system of employee benefits. It thus makes three contributions. First, this Article demonstrates how a rigid requirement of employment benefits can harm workers. Second, it shows how labor law should incorporate advances in economic theory that it has heretofore generally ignored. Third, this Article presents a flexible framework to solve the refractory problem of rigid worker categorization.
11 Drexel Law Review 1
by Dr. Waseem Ahmad Qureshi
Recently, the United States has used force against non-state actors residing in host states in cases where the host state is either unwilling or unable to constrain illicit terrorist activities launched from its territory, using the “unwilling or unable” test guidelines. Even more controversially, the United States targeted the Syrian state in the Shayrat missile attack. Though the unwilling or unable test has some theoretical support among legal theorists, the legality of this test in international law is contentious, which has led to a lack of state practice. Accordingly, there is a lack of guidance in international law on the application of the unwilling or unable test, which could turn out to be costly, because unilateral action by one state against another without U.N. Security Council authorization or a legal use of force in international law can have dire consequences.
This Article aims to critically analyze the application of the unwilling or unable test by the United States to the case of Syria, and assess why the justification that the United States provided for its military intervention on Syrian territory has not been universally accepted. It will also discuss barriers to the acceptance of this standard, especially in the way that it has been interpreted by the United States in the particular case of Syria. This Article argues that the theoretical test is inapplicable in the Syrian case, because the prerequisites set by the test itself are not met. Moreover, the Article will argue that the test lowers the threshold for using force set by the U.N. Charter.
11 Drexel Law Review 61
by Clara Hochleitner
This Article focuses on one special feature of this “new generation” of controlling shareholders, namely the “founder-specific” nature of their shares, which is usually expressed in a conversion feature in the certificate of incorporation. In general, this “conversion feature”—as understood in this Article—stipulates that the super voting power is lost upon certain kinds of transfers. This Article demonstrates that the non-transferability of super voting power has positive as well as negative effects and proposes a corporate governance solution to mitigate these disadvantages. In doing so, the Article takes a broad comparative perspective, looking not only at jurisdictions that have traditionally employed dual-class structures but also at jurisdictions that are currently revisiting their dual-class policy and at jurisdictions with other compelling approaches toward restrictions on the transferability of shares.
11 Drexel Law Review 101
by Jason G. Dykstra
This Article proposes designing a required, upper-division legal writing class that incorporates the skills most needed by new attorneys entering the practice of law. The data shows that most new lawyers are destined for private practice, whether with small firms or as solo practitioners, and most likely, this private practice will include civil litigation. Since most civil litigation resolves by settlement or dispositive motion, new lawyers will focus primarily on pretrial civil litigation. Given this reality, the Article proposes requiring an upper-division legal research and writing course designed to introduce practice-style legal research and writing. This course would serve as an analogue to introduce the pretrial civil litigation skills most needed by new attorneys.
11 Drexel Law Review 149
by Louis J. Capozzi III
This Article offers an analytical framework to evaluate the legitimacy of pendent personal jurisdiction. First, it examines the doctrine’s history and evolution, ultimately criticizing the federal courts for expanding their own jurisdiction without articulating a valid legal warrant. Second, it considers the potential sources of authority for federal courts to wield pendent personal jurisdiction, concluding that all current federal court assertions of pendent personal jurisdiction depend on state long-arm statutes, as limited by the Fourteenth Amendment. In the process, this Article seeks to clarify how the federal courts issue service of process and exercise personal jurisdiction.
This Article then assesses whether pendent personal jurisdiction passes muster under the Court’s personal jurisdiction cases. The Court’s decision in Bristol-Myers, justified by interstate federalism principles, casts doubt on pendent personal jurisdiction because it forbids a court from adjudicating claims unconnected to the forum it sits in. Pendent personal jurisdiction often allows courts to breach that rule. Therefore, this Article argues that both pendent party and pendent claim personal jurisdiction are forbidden. This Article also provides broader insights into personal jurisdiction’s relatedness element and interstate federalism’s role in limiting the adjudicative reach of the nation’s courts within a system of multiple sovereigns.
11 Drexel Law Review 215
by Jenna C. Ferraro
The Fourth Amendment is arguably one of the most important amendments in the U.S. Constitution. It protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures in areas that most would consider private, such as the home. The Supreme Court has ruled on numerous cases regarding Fourth Amendment protections over the years, and the Court has explained the Fourth Amendment analysis and how it should be applied by the lower courts. This Note specifically explores how the Fourth Amendment analysis has been applied in the Second Circuit when it comes to apartment buildings. New York is a state that is within the Second Circuit, and apartment buildings and other types of multi-unit dwellings are extremely common there. When examining whether someone has a reasonable expectation of privacy in the common areas of his or her apartment building, the Second Circuit has applied what this Note refers to as the “exclusive control” test. This Note argues that through the use and application of this test, the Second Circuit will likely create a disparity in terms of how Fourth Amendment rights are distributed based on where a person can afford to live. This Note explains that those who can afford to reside in more luxurious and expensive apartment buildings could have a higher expectation of privacy because of the amenities and security measures these abodes offer. This is clearly an unfair result, as the Fourth Amendment should apply equally to all and no one should be able to buy his or her way to privacy. Because of the unequal distribution of Fourth Amendment rights based on income likely to result from the current test that the Second Circuit applies, this Note proposes expanding the Katz “reasonable expectation of privacy test,” as well as expanding the curtilage doctrine so that it extends to common areas of multi-unit dwellings. These solutions would ensure that all are afforded the privacy they deserve, regardless of where they can afford to live.
11 Drexel Law Review 297
by Denisse F. García
In the United States, fashion designs are not protectible under any of the traditional forms of intellectual property—namely patents, copyrights, or trademarks. Fashion designs are creative works of art and as such are worthy of the same protection as musical recordings, films, books, software programs, or paintings. However, because Congress has consistently neglected addressing the piracy problem in the fashion industry, fast-fashion brands and retailers have been rampantly copying fashion designs almost without consequence. This unethical behavior hurts emerging designers and smaller brands the most. This is why the legal system should stop turning a blind eye and provide designers with a solution that allows for the protection of their designs without interfering with the unique pace of the fashion industry’s creative process.
11 Drexel Law Review 337
by John Lang
The search for sunken treasure is a quest as old as time. That search, however, has led to animosity between neighbors, disputes between countries, and intercontinental naval battles. With the proliferation of undersea technology, what was once thought to be lost at sea is coming ever closer to the surface. Unfortunately, this new technology has only exacerbated existing disputes. The current state of international law, embodied in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), inadequately solves treasure disputes over goods salvaged in international waters. Accordingly, UNCLOS must be amended to include a committee specifically designated and authorized to settle salvage disputes between member nations, states, and salvage companies. The United Nations, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and the Institut de Droit International have attempted to remedy the disputes through resolutions. None of the resolutions have created a committee, and none of the resolutions have successfully solved the salvage disputes. Salvage disputes involve issues of maritime law, finders law, salvage law, and international law; therefore, they can only be solved when looked at through the historical lens in which they exist. This Note examines the history of maritime law and the development of salvage jurisprudence. It suggests a multi-factor framework that a salvage dispute committee can use to properly determine who owns what is found on the bottom of the sea.
11 Drexel Law Review 383
by Daniel P. Rosner
On October 26, 2005, Congress passed the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), an immunity statute that broadly shields gun manufacturers, distributors, and dealers from civil lawsuits arising out of gun violence injuries. PLCAA was passed with overwhelming support in Congress after decades of litigation against the gun industry. After tracking that history of litigation, this Note criticizes Congress’s reasons for passing PLCAA and argues for a broader interpretation of the negligent entrustment exception. In particular, courts should construe the negligent entrustment exception broadly to allow investigation of claims against gun dealers who allegedly store and transfer guns in ways that enable criminals to obtain access to them. In the same vein, PLCAA should not provide wholesale immunity to manufacturers who continually purvey weapons to these corrupt gun dealers solely because they do not directly transfer guns to consumers. The implications of this reading of negligent entrustment would concededly impact the gun industry in momentous ways. However, acceptance of this view would not open a Pandora’s box of litigation, unconstitutionally violate Second Amendment rights, or disturb the gun industry’s qualified immunity. Rather, imposing a duty on the gun industry to monitor the distribution of firearms merely reflects the risk of distributing lethal instrumentalities to unscrupulous commercial actors and dangerous individuals.
11 Drexel Law Review 421