Quinn Curtis

  • Associate Dean for Curricular Programs
  • The Honorable Albert V. Bryan Jr. ’50 Research Professor of Law

Quinn Curtis joined the law faculty in 2011. He teaches courses on corporate law, securities and venture capital. His research focuses on empirical law and finance.  He has written extensively on the regulation of mutual funds and retirement accounts, including empirical work on 401(k) plans, mutual fund governance and fee litigation. His other research interests include corporate governance and corporate litigation.   

His publications have appeared, among other places, in the Yale Law Journal; the University of Pennsylvania Law Review; the Journal of Law, Economics, and Organizations; and the Journal of Legal Studies. He is a charter board member of the Society of Investment Law and a research member of ECGI.  

Curtis received his undergraduate degrees in philosophy and physics magna cum laude from Ohio State University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He received his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he served as an articles editor on the Yale Law Journal. He received his Ph.D. in finance from Yale School of Management in 2011. Prior to attending law school, Curtis worked as a software engineer at Microsoft Corp.

Education

  • J.D.
    Yale Law School
    2009
  • Ph.D.
    Yale University
    2011
  • B.A.
    Ohio State University
    2002
  • B.S.
    Ohio State University
    2002

Forthcoming

The Millennial Corporation: Strong Stakeholders, Weak Managers (with Michal Barzuza & David Webber), Stanford Journal of Law Business & Finance (2023).

Works in Progress

Green Bonds, Empty Promises (with Mark C. Weidemaier & G. Mitu Gulati) (2023).

Book Chapters

The Past and Present of Mutual Fund Fee Litigation under Section 36(b), in Research Handbook on the Regulation of Mutual Funds, Edward Elgar, 164–184 (2018).

Articles & Reviews

ESG and Private Ordering (with Michal Barzuza & David Webber), 1 Chicago Business Law Review 1 (2022).
Do ESG Mutual Funds Deliver on Their Promises? (with Jill E. Fisch & Adriana Robertson), 120 Michigan Law Review 393–450 (2021).
Information and Deterrence in Shareholder Derivative Litigation, 23 American Law and Economics Review 395–431 (2021).
Career Concerns for Revealing Misreporting (with Justin Hopkins), Review of Accounting Studies 1–34 (2021).
Shareholder Value(s): Index Fund ESG Activism and the New Millennial Corporate Governance (with Michal Barzuza & David H. Webber), 93 Southern California Law Review 1243–1321 (2020).
Costs, Conflicts, and College Savings: Evaluating Section 529 Savings Plans, 37 Yale Journal on Regulation 116–163 (2020).
Revealing Corporate Financial Misreporting (with Dain C. Donelson & Justin Hopkins), 36 Contemporary Accounting Research 1337–1372 (2019).
Crisis-Driven Tax Law: The Case of Section 382 (with Albert Choi & Andrew Hayashi), 23 Florida Tax Review 1–72 (2019).
The Fiduciary Rule Controversy and the Future of Investment Advice, 9 Harvard Business Law Review 53–100 (2019).
Board Interlocks and Outside Directors’ Protection (with Michal Barzuza), 46 Journal of Legal Studies 129–160 (2017).
Do Mutual Fund Investors Get What They Pay For? Securities Law and Closet Index Funds (with K. J. Cremers), 11 Virginia Law & Business Review 31–93 (2016).
Do the Merits Matter? Empirical Evidence on Shareholder Suits from Options Backdating Litigation (with Minor Myers), 164 University of Pennsylvania Law Review 291–347 (2016).
Beyond Diversification: The Pervasive Problem of Excessive Fees and "Dominated Funds" in 401(k) Plans (with Ian Ayres), 124 Yale Law Journal 1476–1552 (2015).
Board Interlocks and Corporate Governance (with Michal Barzuza), 39 Delaware Journal of Corporate Law 669–701 (2015).
Protecting Consumer Investors by Facilitating "Improved Performance" Competition (with Ian Ayres), 2015 University of Illinois Law Review 1–57 (2015).
The Flawed Mechanics of Mutual Fund Fee Litigation (with John D. Morley), 32 Yale Journal of Regulation 1–44 (2015).
An Empirical Study of Mutual Fund Excessive Fee Litigation: Do the Merits Matter? (with John D. Morley), 30 Journal of Law, Economics, & Organization 275–305 (2014).
State Foreclosure Laws and Mortgage Origination in the Subprime, 49 Journal of Real Estate Finance & Economics 303–328 (2014).
Tacking in Shifting Winds: A Short Response to Bubb and Pildes (with Andrew Hayashi & Michael A. Livermore), 127 Harvard Law Review Forum 204–209 (2014).
Taking Exit Rights Seriously: Why Governance and Fee Litigation Don't Work in Mutual Funds (with John D. Morley), 120 Yale Law Journal 84–143 (2010).

Op-Eds, Blogs, Shorter Works

Investment Law Scholars’ Amicus Brief in Hughes v. Northwestern University (with William Birdthistle) Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance (2021).
Do ESG Mutual Funds Deliver on Their Promises? (with Jill E. Fisch & Adriana Robertson) Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance (2021).
Why Millennials Will Win Trump’s War on Socially Responsible Investing (with Michal Barzuza & David H. Webber), The Hill (October 27, 2020).
The Past and Present of Mutual Fund Fee Recognition, Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance & Financial Regulation Blog (June 6, 2019).
How Some States Are Ripping Off People Who Try to Save for College, Washington Post (May 22, 2019).
The Fiduciary Rule Controversy and the Future of Investment Advice, CLS Blue Sky Blog (March 14, 2018).

IN THE NEWS

05/26/2023
Green Bonds; Empty Promises (Oxford Business Law Blog)
05/03/2023
Arguments Forecast Approval of New Brokerage Rules With National Sweep (Courthouse News Service)
02/11/2023
The Trillion-Dollar Greenwashing Market (Axios)
02/07/2023
Green Bonds Are Making Fewer and Fewer Promises to Investors (Bloomberg)
01/05/2023
Appointment of 56 New ECGI Research Members (European Corporate Governance Institute )
05/25/2022
SEC To Crack Down on Misleading ESG Claims With Fund Rules (Bloomberg News)
05/16/2022
JetBlue Launches Another Bid for Spirit Airlines (The Washington Post)
06/25/2021
In Windfall for Xinjiang, Huge US Mutual Funds Invest Millions in Its Companies (South China Morning Post)
03/22/2021
Index Funds and Millennial Assets (Jotwell)
10/27/2020
Why Millennials Will Win Trump’s War on Socially Responsible Investing (The Hill)
09/03/2019
Millennials are Driving Corporate Social Views | Quinn Curtis (WINA Radio)
06/07/2019
Is Your State Ripping You Off With the College Savings Program | Quinn Curtis (WINA Radio)
06/06/2019
The Past and Present of Mutual Fund Fee Regulation (Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation)
05/22/2019
How Some States Are Ripping Off People Who Try To Save for College (The Washington Post)
01/19/2016
How to Avoid 401(k) Fees and Penalties (U.S. News & World Report)
11/02/2015
How Your 401(k) Fee Disclosure Statement Can Save You Money (U.S. News and World Report)
08/20/2015
Trial Set To Start Over Whether Boeing Allowed Workers To Be Charged Excessive 401(k) Fees (KPLU)
09/17/2014
Va. Sues Banks for $1.15 Billion for Allegedly Defrauding Taxpayers During Mortgage Crisis (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
07/15/2014
Retirement Savers' Fund Fees Move Lower: ICI (Investment News)
06/23/2014
3 Ways to Fight High Fees in Your 401(k) (The Wall Street Journal)
05/25/2014
Redefining Retirement (KTVN)
05/24/2014
Are Fees Eating Your Retirement Investments? (UVA Today)
04/14/2014
How to Pay Lower Fees on Your Retirement Investments (U.S. News and World Report)
03/17/2014
Don't Bother With That High Cost 401(k) (Forbes)
03/12/2014
Protect us from lousy 401(k) plans? (Bankrate)
03/11/2014
401(k) Plans' Pervasive Problem of Excess Fees (AI-CIO)
03/11/2014
High Fees Can Swallow 401(k) Tax Savings, Researchers Warn (Financial Advisor)
03/05/2014
Canada: Your 401(k) Plan And The Shape Of The Earth (Mondaq)
03/03/2014
How To Avoid Trap Doors In Your 401(k) Plan (Forbes)
01/13/2014
Interlocking Board Seats and Protection for Directors after Schoon (Harvard Law School Blog)

AT UVA LAW

Law and Business at UVA
Accolades: Dean Named to Equal Justice Works Board
Curtis Named Associate Dean for Curricular Programs
Professor’s Scholarship Among Best Corporate Law Articles of the Year
‘Common Law’ S4 E1: Why ESG Funds Are Shaking Up Wall Street
‘Common Law’ Looks at How Socially Conscious ESG Funds Are Shaking Up Wall Street
Professors’ Scholarship Among Best Corporate Law Articles of the Year
Professors Share Lessons Learned Teaching Online
UVA Law To Host Empirical Legal Studies Conference
Millennials Are Now Driving Corporate Governance, Professors Say
Saving For Your Kid’s College? Prof Says Not All 529 Plans Are Equal
6 Professors To Present at Top Law and Economics Conference
5 Professors To Present at Top Law and Economics Conference
Rule Meant to Help Investors May Have Unintended Consequences, Says Professor Quinn Curtis
5 Professors Present at Top Law and Economics Conference
Faculty Analyze Future of Corporate Governance Regulations
Seeking Solidarity, With Attiya Latif and Larycia Hawkins
How to Be a Successful Entrepreneur, With Rob Masri '96
Minding Your Business: 10 Reasons Students Choose the Law & Business Program at UVA Law
5 Professors Participate in Elite Law and Economics Conference
Directors Serving Multiple Corporate Boards Push Trends in Governance, Professors Find
Insight From the Trenches: 7 J-Term Courses That Pair Outside Experts with UVA Law Professors
Quinn Curtis Sheds Light on Costs of 401(k) Retirement Plans
"Occupy Wall Street: Views on the OWS Movement and the Financial Crisis: A Panel Discussion"
New Faculty Member Quinn Curtis Focuses on Consumer Financial Markets
Law and Business at UVA

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