{"id":694,"date":"2014-03-04T09:00:06","date_gmt":"2014-03-04T14:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/?p=694"},"modified":"2014-03-12T11:42:50","modified_gmt":"2014-03-12T15:42:50","slug":"can-governments-follow-their-own-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/2014\/03\/04\/can-governments-follow-their-own-rules\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Governments Follow Their Own Rules?"},"content":{"rendered":"

New Product: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"It is no easy task to create a new government agency, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was no exception. After the recent financial crisis, the CFPB was conceived in 2011 as a way to regulate financial products, in the way that the Consumer Product Safety Commission regulates tangible products. However, some legislators took issue with its proposed clout, cost, and goals. The appointment of a director was wracked with controversy\u2014President Obama instated Richard Cordray as a recess appointment while Congress was technically in session. Then, the CFPB endured a two-year purgatory, as Congress struggled to confirm Cordray as leader. The CFPB\u2019s authority finally vested in 2013 when Cordray was approved; facing critical attention from the media and political opponents, the agency could not afford a misstep.<\/p>\n

Its statutory mandate was simple, but vague: to \u201cconsider the potential benefits and costs\u201d when making rules. How could an agency consider the benefits and costs when nothing like it had ever existed?<\/p>\n

The 2011 Business Roundtable v. SEC<\/em> <\/strong>decision raised the stakes of the mandate, suggesting that independent agencies might need to quantify costs and benefits. Between the agency\u2019s controversial beginnings and the scrutiny of financial agencies post Business Roundtable<\/em>, the CFPB needed a clear policy fast, one that could withstand litigation challenges or congressional review.<\/p>\n

The General Counsel\u2019s office of the CFPB had to legally navigate the agency\u2019s semi-autonomy. It became an exercise in interpretation and discretion. Did Business Roundtable<\/em> apply to the CFPB? Was quantitative cost-benefit analysis necessary, and how might it be done? How could CFPB policy best reflect these opinions? After arriving at hard-won consensus, would the courts agree with them?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Professor Howell Jackson<\/p><\/div>\n

Professor Howell Jackson\u2019s case study, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau<\/em><\/a>, delves extensively into the statutory mandates, precedents, and best practices for agencies setting rulemaking standards.\u00a0 Designed for the Problem Solving Workshop<\/a>, a required 1L course at Harvard Law School, the case progresses through discussion, legal analysis, and memoranda writing before bringing participants to the heart of the problem: finding a unifying policy for rulemaking that stays true to mission of the agency. Participants play the role of new attorneys at the General Counsel\u2019s office of the CFPB tasked with making this policy, and ultimately present their conclusions to a volunteer practitioner acting as the Director of the CFPB. Participants learn how to interpret law in context, review materials purposively, and anticipate a client\u2019s questions and concerns when acting on their behalf.<\/p>\n

The case includes five parts: an introduction of the problem, the agency, and the relevant court decisions; a continuation of the problem that supplies extensive appendices to consider how the agency has incorporated statutory mandates, court decisions, and recommended practices; a memorandum assignment focusing students on one of two policy objectives; final instructions to synthesize those objectives for the presentation to the CFPB Director; and a glossary of acronyms used. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau<\/em><\/a> is available free of charge on the Case Studies website, and educators have free access to a detailed teaching plan<\/a> as well as analysis of relevant rules and decisions.<\/p>\n

The Problem Solving Workshop allows students to confront client problems in the way practicing lawyers do, from the very beginning.\u00a0Jackson, who teaches financial regulation and federal budget policy at Harvard Law School, taught in the Problem Solving Workshop from 2010 to 2013.<\/p>\n

For more information, or to discuss how to adapt the case study and problem solving pedagogy for your academic or professional education needs, contact the Case Studies Program at hlscasestudies@law.harvard.edu.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New Product: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau It is no easy task to create a new government agency, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was no exception. After the recent financial crisis, the CFPB was conceived in 2011 as a way … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5482,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[88569],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-problem-solving-workshop-blog-posts"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4CR8M-bc","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":905,"url":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/2014\/12\/16\/case-studies-greatest-hits\/","url_meta":{"origin":694,"position":0},"title":"Case Studies Greatest Hits","author":"Elizabeth Moroney","date":"December 16, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"As the year comes to a close, we\u2019d like to share our greatest hits of 2014. Do you have our top cases and role plays yet? Top Three New Cases of 2014: Sue the Consumer: Digital Copyright in the New Millennium (FREE) An Advanced Problem Solving Workshop background note about\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Case Study Program Blog Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Case Study Program Blog Posts","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/category\/case-study-program-blog-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1050,"url":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/2015\/12\/22\/putting-rbc-capital-in-context\/","url_meta":{"origin":694,"position":1},"title":"Putting RBC Capital In Context","author":"","date":"December 22, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The following blogpost is from one of the authors of the HLS teaching case study, Barclays Capital and the Sale of Del\u00a0Monte Foods, on a recent court ruling related to the case. Putting RBC Capital In Context By John C. Coates, John F. Cogan, Jr., Professor of Law and Economics\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":446,"url":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/2013\/06\/18\/financial-management-case-studies-at-columbia-law-school\/","url_meta":{"origin":694,"position":2},"title":"Financial Management Case Studies at Columbia Law School","author":"Elizabeth Moroney","date":"June 18, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"by Rachel Gibson Columbia Law School launches a new course this fall, Law Firm Financial Management, co-taught by Madhav Srinivasan, Director in Finance at Paul Weiss, and Dr. Silvia Hodges, Director of Research Services at TyMetrix Legal Analytics. The course will prepare students who are planning to enter the profession\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Case Development Initiative Blog Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Case Development Initiative Blog Posts","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/category\/case-development-initiative-blog-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/files\/2013\/06\/Silvia-Hodges-June-2013-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1165,"url":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/2016\/12\/16\/new-product-mortgage-crisis-call\/","url_meta":{"origin":694,"position":3},"title":"New Product: Mortgage Crisis Call","author":"Lisa Brem","date":"December 16, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Image used under Creative Commons Licensing\u00a0 The financial crisis of the late 2000\u2019s has just hit and more than 10 million homes have been foreclosed upon in the matter of a few years. The American public is outraged and demanding that politicians take action. Much of the blame for the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Harvard Negotiation and Mediation Clinical Program Blog Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Harvard Negotiation and Mediation Clinical Program Blog Posts","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/category\/harvard-negotiation-and-mediation-clinical-program-blog-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Newspapers with headlines referencing the financial crisis","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/files\/2016\/12\/2935021856_7a8740b0a1_b.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/files\/2016\/12\/2935021856_7a8740b0a1_b.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/files\/2016\/12\/2935021856_7a8740b0a1_b.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":941,"url":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/2015\/03\/11\/case-studies-qa-new-case-on-the-management-of-legal-departments\/","url_meta":{"origin":694,"position":4},"title":"Case Studies Q&A: New Case on the Management of Legal Departments","author":"Elizabeth Moroney","date":"March 11, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"New Products: Driving Blind at General Motors (A) and (B) Nathan Cisneros, case writer at the HLS Case Development Initiative, shares his behind-the-scenes perspective on crafting a case based on public sources, messy chains of command, and cover-ups: EM: What inspired the case study? NC:\u00a0In February 2014 General Motors (GM)\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Case Development Initiative Blog Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Case Development Initiative Blog Posts","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/category\/case-development-initiative-blog-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Chevy Cobalt, the car central to the ignition switch recall","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/files\/2015\/03\/2005_Chevy_Cobalt_LS-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":740,"url":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/2014\/04\/08\/far-east-yardies-in-the-classroom\/","url_meta":{"origin":694,"position":5},"title":"“Far East Yardies” in the Classroom","author":"Elizabeth Moroney","date":"April 8, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"the emotional stakes of legal analysis By Saptarishi Bandopadhyay In a sense, the Ching Pow: Far East Yardies!! case study is a prequel to cases in the Langdellian tradition. Where the latter begins with the facts elaborated on in a judicial opinion, Ching Pow speaks to the abundance of conflicts\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Problem Solving Workshop Blog Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Problem Solving Workshop Blog Posts","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/category\/problem-solving-workshop-blog-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5482"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=694"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/694\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":697,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/694\/revisions\/697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}