The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu The leading online blog in the fields of corporate governance and financial regulation. Fri, 09 Oct 2026 11:32:17 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.13 https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/cropped-photography-4-e1706898544564-1-32x32.png The Financial Crisis 10 Years Later: Lessons Learned – The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu 32 32 The Financial Crisis 10 Years Later: Lessons Learned https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2018/10/05/the-financial-crisis-10-years-later-lessons-learned/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-financial-crisis-10-years-later-lessons-learned https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2018/10/05/the-financial-crisis-10-years-later-lessons-learned/#comments Fri, 05 Oct 2018 12:52:36 +0000 https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/?p=111131?d=20181005085236EDT Posted by Brad Karp, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, on Friday, October 5, 2018
Editor's Note:

Brad S. Karp is partner and chairman at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. This post is based on a Paul, Weiss publication by Mr. Karp, Mark Bergman, Susanna Buergel, Roberto Gonzalez, Jane O’Brien, and Elizabeth Sacksteder.

Introduction

The financial crisis was ignited exactly ten years ago: on September 15, 2008, Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy. That same day, Bank of America announced its acquisition of Merrill Lynch. On September 16, the Federal Reserve bailed out AIG. On September 17, the markets were in free-fall. On September 18, Secretary Paulson and Chairman Bernanke briefed Congressional leaders on the contours of a massive bailout plan. And on September 19, the Treasury Department took the unprecedented step of guaranteeing U.S. money market funds.

The financial crisis ravaged the U.S. and world economies and required extraordinary government interventions to prevent a major worldwide depression. It spurred a host of legislative, regulatory, enforcement, litigation, and political responses, many of which are still unfolding. It destroyed venerable businesses and commercial activities and spawned others. And it reshaped market dynamics across the global economy, including in such diverse sectors as private funds, derivatives, securitization, M&A, bankruptcy, and real estate.

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