2014-nexus-symposium-keynote


Nexus Symposium Editor, Nilo Karbassi; Andrew F. Puzder, CEO of CKE Restaurants, Inc. (Carl’s Jr., Hardees); and Nexus Symposium Editor, Hannah Passano.



On Friday, October 24, 2014, Chapman University Dale E. Fowler School of Law’s
Nexus Journal of Law and Policy
hosted the
2014 Nexus Symposium
, “Regulating California Businesses: Are Current Laws Best Serving the State’s Economic Interests or Has the Sun Set On California?” The full-day event included a keynote talk by Andrew F. Puzder, CEO of CKE Restaurants, Inc. (Carl’s Jr., Hardees). Developed and presented by the student symposium editors of the
Nexus Journal
, this year’s theme sought to create a discussion on the laws and policies that make California attractive or unattractive to business, as well as to offer solutions on how California might improve its business climate.

The four panels focused on employment and labor laws, environmental regulations, state taxes, and innovation policy, with panelists that included legal scholars, business professionals, lawyers, journalists and policy advocates. The sessions addressed “The Burdens and Unintended Benefits of California’s Tax Policies on Business,” “The Price of Leading the Nation’s Environmental Regulations,” “Nurturing Innovation to Revive California’s Economy,” and “Do Laws that Favor Employees Drive Business Away?”
See full schedule and panelists.


Presented to a full house of students, faculty members and attorney guests, Mr. Puzder’s lunchtime keynote talk addressed the topic, “Are California Laws Stifling Business?” He explained how California was once a land of opportunity for individuals looking to start a business, including Carl’s Jr. founder Carl N. Karcher. Mr. Puzder argued that California has become so overregulated that it is driving businesses out of the state and is reducing new expansion opportunities for companies like his and many others.

2014-nexus-symposiumpanel-iii


Panel III: Steven Ferrey, Professor of Law, Suffolk University; Ethan Elkind, Associate Director of the Climate Change and Business Program; Dr. Deepa Badrinarayana, Professor of Law, Chapman University Fowler School of Law; and Thomas J.P. McHenry, Partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher Los Angeles.



The symposium was moderated by the law school’s Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development and Professor Donald Kochan, as well as professors Deepa Badrinarayana, Bobby Dexter, John Hall, and Hugh Hewitt.

Fowler School of Law’s
Nexus Journal of Law and Policy
aims to put legal scholarship before an audience of interested professionals, though not limited to legal scholars and practitioners. The submissions from the 2014 Symposium will be included in the next issue of the
Nexus Journal of Law and Policy
.