Marquette Law Review

Corporate directors are subject to the fiduciary duties of care and loyalty in the discharge of their responsibilities. The demands of these duties are often far from obvious, requiring directors to depend on corporate counsel—counsel who are themselves subject to a wide array of oftentimes ambiguous?professional responsibilities.?Ronald J. Colombo, Professor of Law at?Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University, examines the potentially perilous confluence of these two sets of obligations on a corporation's general counsel. Published in the Spring Issue of Volume 107 of the?Marquette University Law School Law Review, "Duties Regarding Duties" studies the critical role of corporate counsel, especially general counsel, in advising directors on their responsibilities, while also being bound by their own professional ethical duties. Colombo surveys current corporate practices to determine how these duties are fulfilled in practice and proposes best practices for navigating these nebulous duties. Colombo concludes that “corporate counsel must recognize that their duties extend not only to the directors and officers they serve but ultimately to the corporation itself, ensuring that legal and ethical responsibilities are upheld at all times."

The U.S. asylum system has increasingly imposed per se reporting requirements that bar asylum protection for individuals who did not report their non-state persecutors, such as cartels or domestic abusers, to authorities before fleeing—even when doing so would be dangerous or futile.?Amelia Steadman McGowan, Assistant Professor and Immigration Clinic Director at the University of Arkansas School of Law, Fayetteville critiques this issue in her article, highlighting the risks these requirements pose to asylum seekers. Published in the Spring Issue of Volume 107 of the?Marquette Law Review, "Forced Back Into the Lion’s Mouth: Per Se Reporting Requirements in U.S. Asylum Law"?explores the legal and policy failures of these reporting requirements, noting how they violate U.S. treaty obligations and undermine the rule of law. McGowan argues for legislative, administrative, and judicial reforms to abolish per se reporting requirements. As McGowan concludes, “These requirements are deadly . . . they impose potentially dangerous (and, at times, impossible) standards for asylum seekers to meet, violating both the letter and spirit of asylum law and U.S. treaty obligations.”

Commentators have long debated whether corporations’ main goal should be to maximize profits or address broader societal issues. This debate has intensified with the rise of ESG investing, which pushes companies to balance financial performance with environmental and social concerns.?Ann Lipton, Associate Dean for Faculty Research and Associate Professor in Business Law and Entrepreneurship at?Tulane University Law School, explores how ESG has become a focal point for both supporters and detractors of corporate social responsibility. Published in the Spring Issue of Volume 107 of the?Marquette Law Review, "Of Chameleons and ESG" examines how ESG, initially intended to preempt government regulation and protect capitalism, is now seen by some as a means of corporate accountability or, conversely, as political overreach. Professor Lipton argues that the debate over ESG highlights a fundamental issue: attempts to detach corporations from government regulation are flawed because corporate governance is inherently tied to regulatory oversight. Ultimately, Lipton concludes that ESG could align profit with societal good, but its success hinges on acknowledging the inevitable relationship between corporations and government regulation. As Lipton writes, "there is no getting the government out of the corporation, and nowhere is that seen more clearly than in modern controversies over corporate social responsibility and ESG." Without this understanding, ESG risks becoming just another temporary corporate trend.

Wisconsin's dairy industry has transformed from small family farms to large Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), which now dominate the landscape. This shift was driven by the state's Right to Farm Law, originally designed to protect small farmers from lawsuits but inadvertently leading to the proliferation of CAFOs. While CAFOs have made meat and dairy cheaper, they have also introduced significant environmental and social challenges.?Madison Bushman, a 2024 graduate of?Marquette University Law School, examines these issues in depth, highlighting the evolution of Wisconsin's agricultural policies, alongside the consequences for local communities. ? Published in the Winter Issue of Volume 107 of the?Marquette Law Review,?"The State of Dairy" traces the rise of CAFOs in Wisconsin and their environmental and economic impacts. The Comment details how the Right to Farm Law, initially meant to support small farms, facilitated the growth of factory farming by shielding CAFOs from legal challenges. The Comment explores the significant water and air pollution caused by CAFOs, the attendant effects on property values and public health, and the legal gaps in regulating these large operations. As the Comment ultimately concludes, while CAFOs offer societal benefits, their "environmental repercussions are undeniable," arguing that "CAFOs need to be held to a higher standard" and that action is needed before reaching "the point of no return."

Wisconsin’s rich conservation history is marked by groundbreaking initiatives like the Conservation Education Statute, which mandated the teaching of natural resource conservation in public schools, and the creation of Earth Day. However, the state's once-vibrant conservation ethic has seen a decline in recent decades. Jason Czarnezki, the Gilbert and Sarah Kerlin Distinguished Professor of Environmental Law and Associate Dean for Environmental Law Programs and Strategic Initiatives at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, and Carolyn Drell, a 2024 J.D. graduate of the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, explore this transformation, offering an in-depth legal history of Wisconsin’s conservation efforts. Published in Volume 107 of the Marquette Law Review's Winter Issue, "A Brief Legal History of Wisconsin Conservation" traces the development of conservation laws in Wisconsin, focusing on how the state’s values were legally expressed and how these laws evolved over time. It examines the factors that once made Wisconsin a leader in conservation—such as public investment, the creation of conservation-related jobs, and broad access to policymakers—while also discussing the reasons behind the recent decline in conservation policies. Ultimately, the authors conclude that “the factors that allowed environmentalism to flourish in Wisconsin are not extinct. By tying future prosperity to the state’s natural resources, through the creation of jobs in natural resource conservation, for example, it can flourish again. There is reason for optimism."

We are thrilled to formally introduce the staff of the Marquette Law Review's 108th Volume. Our staff is eagerly working on the Fall issue of Volume 108, which features a wide array of articles related to pressing regulatory and tort topics. We will also continue to share articles from the Spring and Summer issues of Volume 107, which include an excellent grouping of articles on current legal issues. Stay tuned!

We are excited to share that the Summer Issue of Volume 107 of the?Marquette Law Review?is now electronically available on the journal's website. The issue includes articles covering a wide variety of legal topics, all of which will be spotlighted in the coming weeks. A special thank you to all the journal’s authors, editors, and readers for making the 107th volume of the Marquette Law Review one of the best yet.

We are excited to share that the Spring Issue of Volume 107 of the?Marquette Law Review?is now electronically available on the journal's website. The issue features insightful articles discussing a broad array of legal topics. As always, we will be highlighting each article in posts over the coming weeks, so stay tuned!

Discovery is used in civil litigation as a truth-seeking device that allows parties to achieve rapid and cost-effective dispute resolutions. But, at least to some extent, the purpose of discovery has been clouded by attorneys who (either purposely or inadvertently) use unnecessarily excessive and expensive discovery. Published in the Winter Issue of Volume 107 of the?Marquette Law Review, "When to Leave the Stones Unturned: Using Proportionality to Navigate Discovery Efficiently, Effectively, and Ethically," explains how some attorneys use excessive discovery due to fear of legal malpractice claims—they aim to "leave no stone unturned." ? The article—authored by?Stephen Rispoli, Partner at?Mayer LLP;?Jim Wren, the Leon Jaworski Chair of Practice and Procedure at?Baylor University School of Law; and?Daniella McDonagh, a litigation associate at?McDowell Hetherington LLP—suggests that the goal of leaving no stone unturned contradicts the proportionality principle to limit the scope of discovery, which is evident in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedures. To combat this issue, the article proposes practical methods for attorneys to implement, while also advocating for an ethical safe harbor addition in the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct. Ultimately, the article concludes that without action, "excessive discovery will interfere with the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of disputes, as promised by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure."

The military justice system is often misunderstood and seen as outdated and unjust. Despite criticism, this system persists due to its perceived necessity for maintaining discipline and efficiency within the military. However, it lacks a coherent framework to justify its structure and evolution. To address this issue, Daniel Maurer, Professor in the National Security Law Department at The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center & School, proposes a comprehensive theory of military justice. ? Published in the Winter Issue of Volume 107 of the?Marquette Law Review, "Sovereign, Employer, Community: A Theory of Military Justice Beyond Discipline, Obedience, and Efficiency," explores nine propositions out of which the theory is structured in order to understand military justice as a "strategy." Prominent among these propositions is the idea that government interacts with servicemembers as a sovereign, employer, and community. Ultimately, the article concludes that military law should be reframed as a set of "control features" that "makes substantive and procedural distinctions between punishment, discipline, and censure.”?