Meet Harold S. Bloomenthal – Featured Author
Harold S. Bloomenthal, co-author of Emerging Trends in Securities Laws, 2008-2009 Ed., is a nationally recognized authority in the field of securities law. Mr. Bloomenthal earned his J.D. at Duke Law School in 1947, his J.S.D. at Yale University in 1950, and commenced his law career as an enforcement attorney in the Denver Regional Office of the Securities and Exchange Commission. He has practiced securities law in Denver, Colorado for more than 37 years and has taught at the University of Wyoming College of Law, the University of Denver College of Law, and Northwestern School of Law of Lewis and Clark College. Currently, Mr. Bloomenthal is counsel to the firm Holme Roberts & Owen.
Interview
What inspired you to start writing?
To find my inspiration for legal writing I have to go back considerably over 30 years to what I believe was my first publication relating to securities regulation, SEC Aspects of Oil and Gas Financing [7 Wyo. L.J. 49 (1953)]. I wrote it one year after I left the SEC to be an Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Wyoming College of Law. Fortuitously, my first position out of law school was with the SEC, but my aim was to become a law professor, which is the reason I went on after receiving my law degree to get a J.S.D. degree. The title of the article reflects what inspired me. I realized that there was no better way to learn and teach a subject matter, or for that matter to stay on top of your area of practice, than to write about it.
What has motivated you to continue writing such a prolific amount over such an extended period of time?
My inspiration for writing over the years has remained the same – intellectual curiosity ... I also derive satisfaction from sharing what I learn about securities law with others and hope that in some small way I have been able to help other practitioners, especially young lawyers, solve the problems that arise on a daily basis in securities law practice.
With the world having become more of a global marketplace since you first started writing, have international developments become more relevant to the securities field, and how do you keep up with those developments?
International developments have indeed become more relevant to the securities field over time. In the second semester of 1969, I took a sabbatical and went to Geneva to research developments in securities regulation outside of the United States and Canada and could find very little. I continued to research in that area and by 1975 had developed enough on the subject matter to commence teaching at the invitation of Professor Ved Nanda (also a West author) a course on International Securities Regulation at the Denver University College of Law. This all led to my decision to recruit authors in other countries and to commence the publication of International Capital Markets and Securities Regulation (ICMSR) in 1982. I invited Sam Wolff to join me, as a significant part of his experience at the SEC had been in the international securities regulation area. In recent years he has taken over responsibility in large part for ICMSR as well as other co-authored publications.
You began your legal career with the Securities and Exchange Commission, moved back and forth to the worlds of academia and private practice, and continue to serve as counsel to the firm of Holme Roberts & Owen LLP. Do you find that blend of experience to be a bonus or a necessity to your success as an author?
I think the blend has been extremely helpful and I feel fortunate that I now have the opportunity to consult with other counsel at HRO and keep current on their evolving experience in the area of securities transactions and securities litigation. That blend is reflected, for example, by the fact that Securities and Federal Corporate Law Report, which is published ... 11 times a year, is now in its 30th year. During that time, I never planned too far in advance for a new topic to analyze, as something always occurred in my experience to provide an appropriate new topic for discussion and analysis.
As an author you are sometimes required to look into your crystal ball to predict an outcome or course of action when a court decision or a new rule fails to be released before your book goes to print. Do you find this forecasting to be an enjoyable opportunity or a necessary evil?
I seldom attempt to predict the outcome of a pending case or a proposed rule, although in some instances I may have a strong intuition as to what is likely to occur. I do not see securities regulation as "stable" now or in the future; many issues such as backdating of stock options will disappear over time, but other issues will arise.
Fifteen years ago you began working with Sam Wolff on some of your publications, and through the years he has taken on more responsibility as co-author or co-editor of most of the books. Aside from the valuable contributions he brings in the here and now, how important do you feel it has been to lay the foundation of a succession plan?
I am extremely fortunate to know that Sam Wolff will take over responsibility for all the publications at some point. That, however, is an inadequate description of the contributions to our publications he has made over the years. Sam has brought his significant experience as a member of the SEC staff, and subsequently as an associate and partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, with respect to all phases of securities regulation.
Although not his principal contribution, when he first "volunteered" to join me (circa 1989) he participated as co-author of one of the first editions of Emerging Trends in Securities Regulation. We take pride in this book, which has been published yearly ever since. It covers developments of securities regulation during the preceding twelve months. It also serves as a desktop handbook and update resource for securities practitioners who, because of time pressures in their practice, are otherwise unable to keep up with all developments in the area.