Once Upon a Trading Law: The History of Insider Trading

Legislation changes month to month, year to year, but over the last century, the changes have been astounding. Classroom Insiders is the exciting new podcast where Karen Woody and her students from Washington and Lee University explore the arc and evolution of insider trading law for the past 100 years. In this pilot episode of Classroom Insiders, Karen interviews Ben Richie. Ben is currently a Student Honors Intern in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Previously, he worked as a Corporate Paralegal in the Greater New York City Area. Ben talks about the history of insider trading law, including the events that inspired its inception, and how it has evolved into what we know today. “Insider trading laws started formulating in the late 19th century, though they looked very different to how they are now,” Ben says. Each state handled them individually, and they created a minority and majority rule. The majority rule, founded in treatise law, stated that insiders weren’t duty-bound in their private dealings with stockholders. The minority rule, developed in 1903, stated that insiders had a duty to disclose all material information to shareholders before trading on it. Resources Karen Woody on LinkedIn  Ben Richie on LinkedIn