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Full-Text Articles in Business

Expanding Mfw: Delaware Law Should Offer A Business Judgment Rule Safe Harbor For All Conflicted Controller Transactions, Alex Lindsey Dec 2023

Expanding Mfw: Delaware Law Should Offer A Business Judgment Rule Safe Harbor For All Conflicted Controller Transactions, Alex Lindsey

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

While courts usually defer to a board’s business decisions under the business judgment rule, courts will apply a much less deferential standard of review due to loyalty concerns if a conflicted controller is involved in a business decision such as a merger. However, in Kahn v. M & F Worldwide (“MFW”) when a squeeze out merger was challenged by a minority stockholder, the Delaware Supreme Court reviewed the transaction under the deferential business judgment rule standard because the Court found that the structure of the transaction neutralized the controller loyalty concerns. Building on this reasoning, the Court developed a checklist …


The Problem With The “Non-Class” Class: An Urgent Call For Improved Gatekeepers In Merger Objection Litigation, Josh Molder Dec 2023

The Problem With The “Non-Class” Class: An Urgent Call For Improved Gatekeepers In Merger Objection Litigation, Josh Molder

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

Until recently, class actions dominated merger objection litigation. However, plaintiff’s lawyers have constructed a “non-class” class where an individual suit can benefit from the leverage of a certified class without ever meeting the stringent class certification requirements of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 23. This new development has initiated a shift in merger objection litigation where plaintiffs are increasingly filing individual suits instead of class actions. However, this shift has left shareholders vulnerable to collusive settlements because plaintiff’s attorneys have significant control over these suits and a strong incentive to settle quickly for a substantial fee. Additionally, corporate defendants are …


Death Of A Corporation: How A Seemingly Innocuous Probate Provision Can Fundamentally Undermine The Corporate Form, Kenya Jh Smith Feb 2023

Death Of A Corporation: How A Seemingly Innocuous Probate Provision Can Fundamentally Undermine The Corporate Form, Kenya Jh Smith

William & Mary Business Law Review

Imagine that you are assisting the surviving shareholders and officers of a corporation in settling affairs with the estate of a deceased shareholder. In a corporate governance dispute that ensues, the estate representative uses a seemingly innocuous probate provision allowing him to “continue any business” of the deceased to petition the probate court for direct control of the corporation. You find that there is little statutory or jurisprudential guidance on coordinating that probate provision with longstanding corporate governance requirements that directors, not shareholders, directly manage corporate affairs. This Article explores the unintended consequences of allowing a misplaced but literal reading …


Is "Public Company" Still A Viable Regulatory Category?, George S. Georgiev Jan 2023

Is "Public Company" Still A Viable Regulatory Category?, George S. Georgiev

Faculty Articles

This Article suggests that the ubiquitous “public company” regulatory category, as currently constructed, has outlived its effectiveness in fulfilling core goals of the modern administrative state. An ever-expanding array of federal economic regulation hinges on public company status, but “public company” differs from most other regulatory categories in that it requires an affirmative opt-in by the subject entity. In practice, firms today become subject to public company regulation only if they need access to the public capital markets, which is much less of a business imperative than it once was due to the proliferation of private financing options. Paradoxically, then, …


Explicating The Influence Of Religion In Forming Corporate Governance: Insights From The Philippines, Leveric T. Ng, John Paolo Rivera Jan 2023

Explicating The Influence Of Religion In Forming Corporate Governance: Insights From The Philippines, Leveric T. Ng, John Paolo Rivera

Graduate School of Business Publications

Religion plays a role in shaping personal values and directing an organization’s moral filter. It is an avenue to impose social morality that may impact corporate governance. We examined the influence of religion in the formation and development of good corporate governance through ethical leadership in the Philippines – a country that has strong religious culture. Invalidating scholarly literature on religion and enterprise; we looked into the conception and interpretation of religion and corporate governance through a key informant interview of 30 executive directors from private corporations in the country.We found that corporate governance may arise from religious convictions; where …


Reframing The Dei Case, Veronica Root Martinez Jan 2023

Reframing The Dei Case, Veronica Root Martinez

Faculty Scholarship

Corporate firms have long expressed their support for the idea that their organizations should become more demographically diverse while creating a culture that is inclusive of all members of the firm. These firms have traditionally, however, not been successful at improving demographic diversity and true inclusion within the upper echelons of their organizations. The status quo seemed unlikely to move, but expectations for corporate firms were upended after the #MeToo Movement of 2017 and 2018, which was followed by corporate support of the #BlackLivesMatter Movement in 2020. These two social movements, while distinct in many ways, forced firms to rethink …


Board Demographic, Structural Diversity, And Eco-Innovation: International Evidence, Rashid Zaman, Kaveh Asiaei, Muhammad Nadeem, Ihtisham Malik, Muhammad Arif Jan 2023

Board Demographic, Structural Diversity, And Eco-Innovation: International Evidence, Rashid Zaman, Kaveh Asiaei, Muhammad Nadeem, Ihtisham Malik, Muhammad Arif

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Research question/issue: We examine whether and how board diversity, measured by demographics (i.e., board gender, cultural diversity, tenure, social capital, expertise, and age) and structural diversity (i.e., board independence, size, board seat accumulation-chair, board compensation, and board meeting frequency), influence corporate eco-innovation. Research findings/insights: Utilizing a global sample of publicly listed companies for the period 2004–2019, we find that a one-standard deviation increase in demographic and structural diversity translates into 4.66% and 7.11% higher corporate eco-innovation, respectively. Furthermore, we discover that demographic and structural diversity promotes eco-innovation by offsetting the negative effects of political risk. In an additional analysis, we …