Regulation of Financial Markets: An Evaluation

Speakers: Lance Cassak, Special Counsel, Baker Botts LLP

John Adams, former President, Smith Management and Adjunct Professor, Rutgers University

Participants include Sir John Bourn (former Head of the NAO)

This inaugural workshop will set out the key issues for analysis in this new programme of study into the respective roles of regulators, the courts, and government in remedying the effects of the financial crisis.

The workshop will outline the origins and development of financial regulation, before assessing the aims, purposes and features of the current regulatory framework. It will then analyse the standards against which to assess financial regulation, including: contribution to a well-functioning market; respect for legal and constitutional values; independence of interests; and satisfactory accountability to other branches of government and the public.

A thorough assessment of how well financial regulation has performed against these standards will follow, including an examination of the effectiveness of existing controls on regulation, and the involvement of the courts in oversight and review.

The workshop will conclude with a series of guidelines and recommendations, drawn from the foregoing analysis, for future reform of financial regulation.