Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP

Many thanks to Chris Batz and Howard Rosenberg for the invitation to join you on your "The Future is Bright" podcast regarding Hughes Hubbard's strategy, its new AI platform August and other issues affecting the profession. I enjoyed our conversation!

I received messages from a few younger Orthodox lawyers and a nonlawyer on my prior post about the #insidertrading scandal that broke last week, asking a basic question: beyond the fact that it is illegal, why is insider trading morally wrong? There are many answers given by people much smarter than me. The law should be enough; professional duties (incl. confidentiality) owed to clients, employers, counterparties etc. should be enough. But there is also a powerful religious and moral lens through which to understand the issue. In the Bible, G-d repeatedly and forcefully focuses on false weights and dishonest measuring instruments. See Leviticus, in the portion addressing holiness; in Deuteronomy, where dishonest weights are called an abomination to G-d; and see Proverbs as well. That emphasis is striking. Why single out false weights separately from broader prohibitions on stealing and lying? Perhaps because the choice to use false weights involves something deeper than a single transaction. It corrupt the market’s basic premise of fairness. A merchant using a dishonest scale isn’t just taking a little extra money from one customer. He pretends to participate in an honest marketplace while secretly rigging the terms of exchange for those less fortunate. Insider trading is a modern false weight. It places a hidden thumb on the scale of the market. Fair markets should reward (and incentivize) diligence, judgment, lawful research, and a bit of risk-taking, not the use of entrusted confidential information as a trading advantage. These cases may feel less morally vivid than physically taking money from someone’s pocket. But the harm is real. Insider trading erodes confidence in the market. Ordinary people will believe that insiders always have the upper hand, that the market is structurally tilted against them, and that privileged access matters more than honest analysis. Our country’s cap markets have created extraordinary opportunity and have improved the quality of life for countless people (including me). But that system depends on trust. By converting confidential information into personal profit, you’re not just breaking a rule; you weaken one of the foundations that allows economic opportunity to exist. It is G-dly to consider the broader implications of one’s conduct, including the effect one’s choices have on the economic opportunity of others. It is also G-dly to trust that success and happiness can be achieved through honest work and fidelity to one’s obligations. There is also a professional point that shouldn't be minimized. Lawyers and other advisers who are fortunate enough to work on major transactions receive access to sensitive information only because they are trusted to use it for a proper purpose. That access carries clear ethical duties of confidentiality, loyalty and restraint. The privilege of being in the room comes with the obligation to not monetize what you learn there. #ethics #mergers https://lnkd.in/eEYiMz5d

A pleasant evening at the U.S. Department of State’s Benjamin Franklin Room — a space that has hosted some of the most consequential diplomatic moments of the past decades, and rarely opens its doors to the public. Tonight it did, for the The Washington Foreign Law Society ’s Diplomatic Reception honoring #Argentina . Thank you to Alexandra BOCHNAKOVA , WFLS President, for making it happen.

Congratulations to our counsel Brian A. Vaca on his recognition as a distinguished alum by the University of Miami School of Law !

Appreciate the opportunity to help clear up a lot of confusion we have seen on this. OFAC is not expanding the scope of its prohibitions, but rather explaining when it will aggressively respond to apparent violations.

Gearing up for our panel discussion on #construction and #infrastructure disputes at GAR Live Turkic Region in Almaty, Kazakhstan on 23 April 2026. I look forward to what promises to be an engaging (and productive) conversation, and hope to see many friends and colleagues there! Further details about the event can be found in the comments below. Anna Guillard Sazhko Ali Gursel, Patricia Nacimiento , Zhazgul Altynbekova , Valentine Chessa , Yevgeniya Filatova, Maria Fogdestam Agius , Saltanat Imanova , Maria Jonker, Mehmet Karli , Aigoul Kenjebayeva , Victoria Khandrimaylo , Jake Lowther , Thomas Granier , Stuart Paterson , Elijah Putilin FCIArb , Prof. Dr. Islambek Rustambekov , Violeta Saranciuc, FCIArb , Patricia Shaughnessy , Bakhyt Tukulov , Gokce Uyar , Global Arbitration Review #HughesHubbard #GARLive #internationalarbitration