SETH C. ORANBURG

About

Seth C. Oranburg is a Professor of Law at The University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law. He studies how technological disruption destabilizes moral norms and social trust, and how legal design can restore integrity to markets and institutions.

His work spans corporate and securities regulation, contracts, trade secrets, and digital assets (including cryptocurrency and decentralized autonomous organizations). Oranburg asks how law builds organizational trust—and how it responds when institutions fail.

Before entering academia, Oranburg practiced venture finance and emerging-company law at Fenwick & West LLP in Silicon Valley, and antitrust law at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft in Washington, DC. He earned his J.D., with honors, from the University of Chicago Law School and his B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of Florida.

Current Positions

• Professor of Law, University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law (2024-2026)
• Director, Program on Organizations, Business and Markets, NYU Law Classical Liberal Institute
• Chair, Law Faculty Section, Academic Engagement Network
• Fellow, Faculty of Law, Haifa Center for Law and Technology

Research & Publications

Books

Recent Articles

Click any article to read the abstract

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  The GENIUS Dilemma: Innovation Versus Antifraud in Stablecoin Regulation
  Stanford Journal of Blockchain Law & Policy (forthcoming 2026) | SSRN
  This article examines the tension between promoting financial innovation and preventing fraud in stablecoin regulation, analyzing how the GENIUS Act attempts to balance these competing concerns in the emerging digital asset marketplace.
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  The CLARITY Act: How Congress Will Transform Digital Asset Markets
  Review of Banking and Financial Law – Boston University (forthcoming 2026) | SSRN
  This article analyzes the proposed CLARITY Act and its potential to reshape digital asset regulation, examining how Congress's comprehensive framework would provide legal certainty for cryptocurrency markets while addressing key regulatory gaps.
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  Function over Form: A Statutory Framework for Digital Asset Regulation
  Louisiana State University Law Review (forthcoming 2026) | SSRN
  This article proposes a functional approach to digital asset regulation that focuses on economic substance rather than technical form, offering a comprehensive statutory framework that adapts traditional securities law principles to blockchain-based assets.
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  Antitrust Law for Blockchain Technology
  49 Journal of Corporation Law 379 (2024) | Full Text
  This article explores how traditional antitrust principles apply to decentralized blockchain networks, examining market power, coordination, and competition issues unique to distributed ledger technologies and proposing adaptations to existing antitrust frameworks.
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  Unintended Consequences of Mandatory ESG Disclosures
  77 Business Lawyer 697 (2023) | Full Text
  This article examines how mandatory environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure requirements may produce unintended negative effects, including increased litigation risk, standardization that obscures material differences, and strategic gaming by corporations.
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  The Gig Economy, Smart Contracts, and the Disruption of Traditional Work
  50 Journal of Legal Studies 219 (2021, with Liya Palagashvili) | Full Text
  This article analyzes how blockchain-based smart contracts could transform gig economy labor relationships, examining the potential for self-executing agreements to reduce transaction costs while raising new questions about worker protections and platform accountability.
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  Hyperfunding: Regulating Financing Innovation
  89 Colorado Law Review 1033 (2018) | Full Text
  This article introduces the concept of "hyperfunding"—the intersection of crowdfunding and cryptocurrency—and proposes a regulatory framework that balances innovation with investor protection as entrepreneurs increasingly turn to token sales and decentralized fundraising mechanisms.

Public Commentary

Latest Op-Ed

Recent Op-Eds & Blog Posts

Media Appearances

• Challenges to Academic Freedom on College Campuses
  The Legal Impact Podcast (March 29, 2025)
• Campus Protests and Free Speech
  The Legal Impact Podcast (September 23, 2024)
• California Ballot Measure Keeps "Gig" in Gig Economy
  Marketplace (November 20, 2020)

Teaching

Teaching Honors

• 🏆 University Excellence in Teaching Award (2024)
• 🏆 Center for Teaching Excellence Inclusive Teaching Award (2021)
• 📜 Presidential Scholarship Award (2019)

Course Offerings

• Contract Law
  Foundational course exploring when and how law should enforce voluntary agreements
• Business Associations
  Corporate formation, governance, and liability for entities and managers
• Securities Regulation
  Federal securities laws and capital markets regulation
• Venture Capital Transactions
  Practical course on startup financing and deal structures
• Trade Secret Law
  Protection of confidential business information and competitive strategy
• Corporate Finance
  Financial tools and concepts for legal practice

Teaching and engaging with students in a moot courtroom setting

Contact