William A. Birdthistle joined the faculty of Chicago-Kent in 2006. Previously, he
practiced for five years at Ropes & Gray in Boston, where he was a corporate
associate in the investment management division. While at the firm, Professor Birdthistle
worked primarily on matters involving mutual funds and hedge funds, focusing specifically
on governmental investigations into allegations of malfeasance in the mutual fund
industry. 

Professor Birdthistle's research explores investment funds, executive compensation,
and corporate governance. He has published academic articles in the University of Chicago
Law Review, Harvard Law Review, University of Illinois Law Review, Green Bag, and Tulane
Law Review, among other places, and has written book reviews, op-eds, and other pieces
for the Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, and Christian Science Monitor. His article
on exchange-traded funds published in the Delaware Journal of Corporate Law was selected
for inclusion in the Securities Law Review anthology of the top 10 securities law review
articles of 2008.

Articles

OpenURL

Becoming the Fifth Branch (forthcoming), Cornell Law Review (2013)

OpenURL

The Supreme Court's Theory of the Fund, Journal of Corporation Law (2012)

Just as the firm has long served as the foundational molecule of the U.S. capitalist...

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Breaking Bucks in Money Market Funds, Wisconsin Law Review (2010)

This Article argues that the Securities and Exchange Commission’s first and most significant response to...

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Investment Indiscipline: A Behavioral Approach to Mutual Fund Jurisprudence, University of Illinois Law Review (2010)

Next Term, in Jones v. Harris, the Supreme Court will be called upon to resolve...

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One Hat Too Many? Investment Desegregation in Private Equity (symposium) (with M. Henderson), University of Chicago Law Review (2009)

The nature of private equity investing has changed significantly as two dynamics have evolved in...

Contributions to Books

The Fortunes and Foibles of Exchange-Traded Funds: A Positive Market Response to the Problems of Mutual Funds, Securities Law Review (2009)

Popular Press

Behind the Green Veil (reviewing Richard Tillinghast, Finding Ireland), Wall Street Journal (2009)

A Postmodern St. Patrick's Day, Chicago Tribune (2008)

Burning Bright: How the Celtic Tiger Proved the Begrudgers Wrong(reviewing R.F. Foster, Luck and the Irish 2008), Wall Street Journal (2008)

An Irish Freshman Adapts to Dorm Life, Chicago Tribune (2007)

Bookmarks, Wall Street Journal (2007)