Cary Martin Shelby

Cary Martin Shelby

Ralph Brill Endowed Chair, Professor of Law

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Cary Martin Shelby joined Chicago-Kent College of Law as the Ralph Brill Endowed Chair Professor of Law in July 2023. She specializes in corporate and securities law and teaches a variety of courses such as Contracts, Business Associations, Securities Regulation, Corporate Finance, and a seminar on Investment Funds. Shelby was previously a professor of law at Washington and Lee University School of Law and served as a visiting associate professor of law with The George Washington University Law School during the spring 2021 semester. She was also the J.B. and M.K. Pritzker Family Foundation Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law with Northwestern Pritzker School of Law during the 2022–2023 academic year.

Her research generally encompasses regulatory issues related to hedge funds and other pooled investment vehicles. It has utilized a range of theoretical frameworks to scrutinize the blurred distinctions between public and private investment funds resulting from financial innovation, systemic risk, and retailization. It further examines the extent to which the regulatory apparatus provided under corporate and securities laws, filtered through a Critical Race Theory lens, could better protect against more expansive notions of systemic risk generated by racist practices and policies. Shelby has published articles in Northwestern University Law Review (forthcoming), California Law Review, The Business Lawyer, Boston College Law Review, among other journals and periodicals. Shelby is currently under contract with Cambridge University Press for her forthcoming book project, Markets for Black Pain: Law and Marginalization as a Commodity.

In terms of honors and awards, Shelby received the DePaul College of Law Excellence in Teaching Award in May 2016 and the DePaul University Excellence in Teaching Award in September 2018. She also received the Ethan Allen Fellowship from W&L law school for scholarly excellence in June 2020. Shelby has recently been appointed to serve as the Co-Chair of the African American Affairs Committee of the ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice.

Shelby received her B.S. in finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and her J.D. from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. She then practiced law in the Investment Funds, Advisers and Derivatives Group with Sidley Austin LLP for almost four years. As an associate in this group, she represented clients in regulatory and corporate matters involving hedge funds, commodity pools and derivatives trading. After leaving Sidley, Shelby completed the William H. Hastie Fellowship at the University of Wisconsin Law School, which is a competitive two-year LL.M. program designed to prepare candidates for a career in law academia.

Education

J.D., Northwestern Pritzker School of Law

B.S., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Publications

Published Articles:

  • Racism and Systemic Risk, 118 NW. U. L. REV. __ (forthcoming Nov. 2023); Featured in, Racism and Systemic Risk, HARVARD LAW SCHOOL FORUM ON CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND FINANCIAL REGULATION (May 11, 2023).
  • Profiting From Our Pain: Privileged Access to Social Impact Investing, 109 CAL. L. REV. 1261 (August 2021); Reviewed by Gina-Gail Fletcher, Doing Well While Doing Good: Impact Investing & the Commodification of Marginalization, JOTWELL (Nov. 3, 2021); reprinted in, 64 CORP. PRACTICE COMMENTATOR 1 (2022).
  • How Did We Get Here? Dissecting the Hedge Fund Conundrum Through an Institutional Theory Lens, 74 BUS. LAW. 735 (Summer 2019).
  • Closing the Hedge Fund Loophole: The SEC as the Primary Regulator of Systemic Risk, 58 B. C. L. REV. 639 (2017).
  • Diversifying to Mitigate Risk: Can Dodd-Frank Section 342 Help Stabilize the Financial Sector? co-authored piece with Steven Ramirez and Kristin Johnson, 73 WASH. & LEE L. REV. 1795 (2016).
  • Are Hedge Funds Still Private? Exploring Publicness in the Face of Incoherency, 69 SMU L. REV. 405 (2016).
  • Privileged Access to Financial Innovation, 47 LOY. U. CHI. L. J. 315 (2015).
  • One Step Forward for Hedge Fund Investors: The Removal of the Solicitation Ban and the Challenges that Lie Ahead, 16 U. PA. J. BUS. L. 1143 (2014).
  • Private Investment Companies in the Wake of the Financial Crisis: Rethinking the Effectiveness of the Sophisticated Investor Exemption, 37 D.J.C.L. 49 (2012).
  • Is Systemic Risk Prevention the New Paradigm? A Proposal to Expand Investor Protection Principles to the Hedge Fund Industry, 86 ST. JOHN’S L. REV. 87 (2012).
  • Homeless Education: Unveiling the Truth Behind Beating the Odds, Symposium Issue: Separate and Unequal? The Socio-Economic Realities of Public Education in America, 14 PUB. INT. L. REP. 294 (2009), reprinted in, YUDOF, LEVIN, MORAN AND RYAN, EDUCATIONAL POLICY AND THE LAW (5th ed. 2012).


Books-in-Progress:

  • Markets for Black Pain: Law and Marginalization as a Commodity, (under contract with Cambridge University Press).
  • The Found Daughter: Pulling Together the Pieces of my Mosaic, currently seeking agent representation.


Other Publications:

Affiliations

  • DaCasiom, LLC - Founder (February 2020-present)
  • Ethics Commission for Berwyn, IL - Ethics Commissioner and Chair (February 2017-April 2019)
  • Chicago Coalition for the Homeless (CCH) - Board Member and Speaker’s Bureau Member (Summer 2005-June 2010)

Presentations

  • Wharton Financial Regulation Conference, presenting Racism and Systemic Risk, for panel on Consumer Protection, Discrimination, and Antitrust, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (April 2023).
  • ABA Economic Justice Summit, presented Racism and Systemic Risk for panel on Racial Justice and Economics, Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, DC (March 2023).
  • Guest Lecturer for Professor Devon Carbado’s Critical Race Theory Seminar, presented Racism and Systemic Risk, UCLA Law School, Los Angeles, CA (March 2023).
  • Guest Lecturer for Professor Wendy Greene’s Race and Law Seminar, presented Racism and Systemic Risk, Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law, Philadelphia, PA (March 2023).
  • Association of American Law Schools 2023 Annual Meeting, presented Racism and Systemic Risk for AALS joint panel (Financial Institutions and Consumer Financial Services, Co-Sponsored by Securities Regulation) on Financial Regulation in a Time of Global Uncertainty (January 2023).
  • Faculty Workshop for Dean’s Office Speaker Series, presenting Racism and Systemic Risk, University of Wisconsin Law School, Madison, WI (September 2022).
  • Critical Race Theory Summer School, African American Policy Forum, Invited Speaker, Social Welfare Policy & the Fostercare System: The Case for Intersectionality (July 2022).
  • Rage, Reckoning, & Remedy, Law and Society Association 2022 Annual Meeting, presented Markets for Black Pain: Law and Marginalization as a Commodity for panel on Race, Racism, and Corporate Law, ISCTE University Institute of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal (July 2022).
  • National Business Law Scholars Conference, Invited Panelist for Plenary Panel, The JOBS Act: Ten Years Later, The Oklahoma University College of Law, Norman, OK (June 2022).
  • 2022 NASAA Public Policy Symposium, Invited Panelist, The Implications of New Technologies for Financial Inclusion and Investor Protection (May 2022).
  • Tulane Corporate and Securities Roundtable, presented Markets for Black Pain: Law and Marginalization as a Commodity, Tulane University School of Law, New Orleans, LA (March 2022).
  • Equity and Access in Securities Markets, Panelist, AALS Section on Securities Regulation, Virtual Conference (January 2022).
  • Faculty Workshop, University of Alabama School of Law, presented Profiting From Our Pain: Privileged Access to Social Impact Investing, Tuscaloosa, AL (October 2021).
  • Restoring ourselves for the Journey: Protecting our work, our ideas, and our time, Invited Panelist, Lutie Lytle Black Women Law Faculty Writing Workshop, Howard University School of Law (June 2021).
  • Faculty Workshop, Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law, presented Profiting From Our Pain: Privileged Access to Social Impact Investing, Philadelphia, PA (April 2021).
  • Chicagoland Junior Scholars Conference, Northern Illinois University College of Law, Senior Reviewer, Chicago, IL (October 2020).
  • NLaw Faculty & Friends on COVID & Communities of Color, Invited Panelist, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law (August 2020).
  • American University FinReg Offsite AALS Workshop, presented Profiting From Our Pain: Privileged Access to Social Impact Investing, Washington, DC (January 2020).
  • Annual Investment Fund Roundtable, Yale Law School, New Haven Connecticut (December 2019).
  • W&L Lutie Langston Roundtable, presented Profiting From Our Pain: Privileged Access to Social Impact Investing, Washington and Lee University School of Law, Lexington, VA (October 2019).
  • Chicagoland Junior Scholars Conference, Loyola University Chicago School of Law, Senior Reviewer, Chicago, IL (October 2019).
  • Lara D. Gass Annual Symposium: Civil Rights and Shareholder Activism, Washington and Lee University School of Law, Invited Panelist, Lexington, VA (February 15, 2019).
  • Chicagoland Junior Scholars Conference, Northern Illinois University College of Law, Senior Reviewer, Chicago, IL (October 5, 2018).
  • Lehman 10 Years Later: Lessons Learned, Loyola University Chicago School of Law, Discussant on “Still too Big to Fail” Panel, Chicago, IL (September 14, 2018).
  • 12th Annual Lutie Lytle Black Women Law Faculty Writing Workshop, SMU Dedman School of Law, presented How Did We Get Here? Dissecting the Hedge Fund Conundrum Through an Institutional Theory Lens, Dallas, TX (July 14, 2018).
  • Law at the Crossroads: Le Droit a la Croisée des Chemins, Law and Society Association 2018 Annual Meeting, presented How Did We Get Here? Dissecting the Hedge Fund Conundrum Through an Institutional Theory Lens for panel on Regulating Firm Structure and Markets, Toronto, Canada (June 7, 2018).
  • Organizing, Deploying, and Regulating Capital Workshop, Georgia State University College of Law, presented How Did We Get Here? Dissecting the Hedge Fund Conundrum Through an Institutional Theory Lens, Atlanta, GA (April 27, 2018).
  • Securities Regulation Workshop, Boston College School of Law, presented Closing the Hedge Fund Loophole: The SEC as the Primary Regulator of Systemic Risk, Boston, MA (November 14, 2017).
  • Securities Law Committee Workshop, Invited Speaker, Chicago Bar Association, presented the Dodd Frank, the FSOC, and systemically important financial institutions (SIFIs) in the age of Trump, Chicago, IL (March 16, 2017).
  • Faculty Workshop, Loyola University Chicago School of Law, presented Closing the Hedge Fund Loophole: The SEC as the Primary Regulator of Systemic Risk, Chicago, IL (November 8, 2016).
  • Business Law Colloquium, University of California, Irvine School of Law, presented Closing the Hedge Fund Loophole: The SEC as the Primary Regulator of Systemic Risk, Irvine, CA (September 19, 2016).
  • National Business Law Scholars Conference, University of Chicago Law School, presented Closing the Hedge Fund Loophole: The SEC as the Primary Regulator of Systemic Risk for Securities Market Regulatory Theory panel, Chicago, IL (June 2016).
  • 10th Annual Lutie Lytle Black Women Law Faculty Writing Workshop, University of Iowa College of Law, presented Closing the Hedge Fund Loophole: The SEC as the Primary Regulator of Systemic Risk, Iowa City, IA (July 2016).
  • Public Pension Plans and Private Funds Conference, Lowell Milken Institute at UCLA Law School, presented, Is Transparency the Answer? Reconciling the Fiduciary Duties of Public Pension Plans and Private Funds, Los Angeles, CA (May 2016).
  • Belonging, Place and Visions of Law and Social Change, Law and Society Association 2016 Annual Meeting, presented Diversifying to Mitigate Risk: Can Dodd-Frank Section 342 Help Stabilize the Financial Sector? for Corporate and Securities panel on Addressing Corporate Wrongdoing (May 2016).
  • Association of American Law Schools 2016 Annual Meeting, presented Diversifying to Mitigate Risk: Can Dodd-Frank Section 342 Help Stabilize the Financial Sector? for AALS joint panel (Minority Groups, Employment Discrimination Law, and Women in Legal Education) on The Dodd-Frank Act's Fifth Anniversary: Diversity and Inclusion in the Leadership of the Financial Services Sector (January 2016).
  • 9th Annual Lutie Lytle Black Women Law Faculty Writing Workshop, Vanderbilt Law School, presented Are Hedge Funds Still Private? Exploring Publicness in the Face of Incoherency, Nashville, TN (July 2015).
  • National Business Law Scholars Conference, Seton Hall University School of Law, presented Are Hedge Funds Still Private? Exploring Publicness in the Face of Incoherency for Investment Funds panel, Newark, NJ (June 2015).
  • Law’s Promise and Law's Pathos in the Global North and Global South, Law and Society Association 2015 Annual Meeting, presented Are Hedge Funds Still Private? Exploring Publicness in the Face of Incoherency for Banking, Securities, and Beyond: Evaluating Financial Regulation in Varied Contexts panel, Seattle, WA (June 2015).
  • National Business Law Scholars Conference, Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, presented Privileged Access to Financial Innovation, Los Angeles, CA (June 2014).
  • Midwest People of Color Conference, Indiana Tech Law School, presented Privileged Access to Financial Innovation, Fort Wayne, IN (March 2014).
  • Legal Scholarship Workshop, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, presented One Step Forward for Hedge Fund Investors: The Removal of the Solicitation Ban and the Challenges that Lie Ahead, Chicago, IL (November 2013).
  • 2013 Junior Faculty Workshop on Financial Services Law, presented One Step Forward for Hedge Fund Investors: The Removal of the Solicitation Ban and the Challenges that Lie Ahead, University of Connecticut School of Law, Hartford, CT (June 2013).

PUBLIC SPEAKING

  • Annual Children’s Law Center Benefit, Children’s Law Center of Minnesota, Keynote Speaker, St. Paul, Minnesota (October 2021).
  • Graduation and Scholarship Celebration, Foster Progress, Keynote Speaker, Chicago, IL (August 2021).
  • Black History Month Celebration, Providence St. Mel High School, Invited Speaker, Chicago, IL (February 2021).
  • Western Region National BLSA Academic Retreat, University of Nevada Las Vegas School of Law, Invited Speaker, Las Vegas, NV (October 2017).
  • ChildServ, Community United Methodist Church, Invited Speaker, Naperville, IL (April 2017).
  • 28th Annual Conference for the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY), Panelist (November 2016).
  • Diverse Lives in the Law: The Impostor Syndrome, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, Panelist, Chicago, IL (October 2014).
  • Not All the Same: Intersectionality and the 1L Experience, Diversity Coalition of Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, Panelist, Chicago, IL (September 2014).
  • Administrator Trainings on Implementation of Federal Homeless Education Law, Chicago Public Schools, Speaker, Chicago, IL (June 2005-July 2010).
  • 6th Annual Women’s Initiative Luncheon, Childlink, Keynote Speaker, Chicago, IL (September 2009).
  • Educating Students Without Permanent Housing: Challenges and Solutions for New York State, Keynote Speaker, New York, NY (February 2008).
  • Heartland Presidential Forum, Center for Community Change, Speaker, Des Moines, IA (December 2007).
  • Ain’t No Mountain High Enough: Achieving Justice for Children, American Bar Association Section of Litigation Children’s Rights Litigation Committee, Speaker, Charleston, SC (January 2007).
  • Graduation Speaker, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, Chicago, IL (May 2006).
  • McKinney Vento Awards Reception, National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, Award Recipient and Speaker, Washington, DC (October 2005)

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