"Wells Submissions" to the SEC as Offers of Settlement Under Federal Rule of Evidence 408 and Their Protection from Third-Party Discovery

Each year, the Section of Business Law sponsors the Mendes Hershman Student Writing Contest to encourage and reward law student writings on business law subjects of general and current interest. Essays submitted for consideration must be the work oj the submitting student without substantial editorial input from others. The papers are judged on research and analysis, choice oj topic, writing style, originality, and contribution to the literature available on the topic. Depending on the topic, whether the paper has been previously published, and other factors, the winning essay is considered for publication in The Business Lawyer. The winning essay for 2002-2003 was submitted by Joshua A. Naftalis. However, Mr. Naftalis' paper had previously been published at 102 Colum. L Rev. 1912 (2002), so it is not being republished here. Mr. Naftalis was awarded the Mendes Hershman Student Writing Contest Prize at the Sections luncheon at the Annual Meeting in August 2003. An abstract of Mr. Naftalis' paper is set forth below.