Episode 044 - Conversation with Professor of Law Miriam H. Baer

Episode 044 - Conversation with Professor of Law Miriam H. Baer.mp3

In this pod cast, BLS Professor of Law Miriam H. Baer discusses entity liability for corporate crime. Prof. Baer has lately been a guest contributor to PrawfsBlog where she wrote an entry about deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) and the problems that arise in the prosecution of corporate entities. In the blog entry, Prof. Baer refers to her article Insuring Corporate Crime, 83 Ind. L.J. (2008). There, she proposed the abolition of entity-wide criminal liability. She suggested in its place the adoption of an insurance system, whereby carriers would examine corporate compliance programs, estimate the risk that a corporation's employees would commit crimes, and then charge companies for insuring those risks.

In this podcast, Prof. Baer discusses her article as well as some of the problems posed by deferred prosecution agreements. She cites the prosecution of Bristol Meyers Squib in New Jersey where the presence of a settlement agreement may have sent mixed signals to investors, the corporate board and the public. Prof. Baer cites the case as an example of the problems that arise when prosecutors interfere in the internal affairs of corporations with DPAs.

Prof. Baer teaches courses at BLS in Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure I, and Corporations. She served formerly at New York University School of Law's Lawyering Program and as an assistant general counsel for compliance with Verizon and an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York. Her scholarly publications are available on her Selected Works page.