The Simeon E. Baldwin Award was established in 2007 and is presented by the Center to a Yale Law School graduate in recognition of distinguished achievement in law and business. Simeon Baldwin, both a student and faculty member of the Law School, was the leading railroad lawyer of his day and was responsible for putting in place the Law School's interdisciplinary tradition, which would propel Yale Law into the preeminent institution it is today. He was also governor and chief justice of the Supreme Court of Connecticut, and a founder and president of an astounding number of professional associations including the American Bar Association, American Association of Law Schools and American Political Science Association. Baldwin's extraordinary career embodies the distinguished service that the Center wishes to recognize and honor in award recipients.
Award Recipients:
2009: Arthur Fleischer, Jr. '58, Senior Partner, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson
2008: Ralph K. Winter '60, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, Professor (Adjunct) of Law and formerly William K. Townsend Professor of Law, Yale Law School.
2007: Robert Todd Lang '47, Chairman of the YLS Center for the Study of Corporate Law's Board of Advisors, and senior partner, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP.
2009: Arthur Fleischer, Jr. '58, Senior Partner, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson
At the presentation of the award, Center director Roberta Romano ’80 remarked:
“Art Fleischer’s career perfectly captures the qualities of the individual whom we recognize with the Baldwin award, distinguished service across the private, public and non-profit sectors.
Roberta Romano '80, Art Fleischer '58, Dean Robert Post '77, Todd Lang '47 |
Art is one of the three creators of modern takeover law - along with Marty Lipton of Wachtell Lipton, and Joe Flom of Skadden Arps. He has been a pioneer in the art of engaging in hostile takeovers and defending against them, from the days when such transactions were novel and not being undertaken by many law firms. Art has done more than advise clients, he has also advised academics, students and practitioners, having authored the leading treatise on takeover defenses, which is about to come out in its 7th edition. In addition to being one of the great deals lawyers of his generation, Art has been involved in public service - starting with working at the SEC when a young lawyer as an assistant to the chairman in the early 1960s, through serving on the boards of the American Stock Exchange, and the Whitney Museum of American Art, among other institutions. Art has also been a loyal supporter of the law school, and an active leader in his class reunions. The award recognizes your contributions to corporate law, the betterment of the operation of businesses in the US., and globally, and the Yale Law School. We are privileged that you are our graduate.”
2008:
Judge Ralph K. Winter '60, was a member of the Law School faculty from 1962-82, when he was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He continues to teach on the faculty part-time.
In remarks on the occasion of the presentation of the award, Roberta Romano '80, Center director stated that Judge Winter was awarded the Simeon E. Baldwin Award in recognition of his
Dean Harold Hongju Koh, Ralph Winter '60, Todd Lang '47, Roberta Romano '80. |
foundational contributions to corporate law as a scholar and jurist. His pathbreaking 1977 article, "State Law, Shareholder Protection, and the Theory of the Corporation," challenged the prevailing understanding of state corporate law as a "race for the bottom" and transformed the debate, by using economic analysis to identify fundamental flaws in the dominant reasoning that failed to recognize the impact of markets on behavior. It is difficult to appreciate how novel and controversial the article's approach was from today's vantage point, as the economic mode of analysis, which was against the grain of the then-existing literature, is now mainstream. The 1977 article continues to be read and cited, with 10 percent of its over 200 citations, having been in 2007-08 publications; this is a rare achievement. Ralph Winter has also continued to influence corporate law from the bench: For example, to understand the Business Judgment Rule, the keystone of the liability regime for corporate directors, a lawyer has to read his opinion in Joy v. North.
2007:
Robert Todd Lang '47 , Chairman of the YLS Center for the Study of Corporate Law's Board of Advisors, and senior partner, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP.
Robert Todd Lang '47, chairman of the Center’s Board of Advisors, was the recipient of the first Simeon E. Baldwin Award for Distinguished Service in Law and Business. A senior partner of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, Lang was the driving force behind the creation of the Center. Roberta Romano '80, Center director remarked on the occasion of his receiving the award:
"Baldwin's career embodies what we wish to recognize and honor in the award recipient, and he would have recognized a kindred spirit in Todd Lang.
Roberta Romano ‘80, Todd Lang ‘47, Dean Harold Hongju Koh. |
Todd is not just one of the great corporate lawyers of his generation, but he has also worked tirelessly on every important bar committee and task force on corporate governance and securities regulation over the past several decades. As a consequence, the benefit of his wisdom has gone far beyond his clients; our laws are infinitely better for Todd's efforts. Todd has also been a steadfast friend of YLS who had both the vision to recognize the need for a corporate law center at the law school when none existed in the country, and the generosity to get such a project off the ground. Students, faculty and alumni in the law and business area have all been the beneficiaries of Todd's foresight and generosity, which has enriched students' educational experience and faculty research, and fostered interaction among students, faculty and graduates. It is befitting that Todd is the first recipient of the Simeon Baldwin award that the Corporate Law Center has established to recognize an individual's contribution to law and business."
