Organizations Law Commons^™

The One And The Many: Individual Rights, Corporate Rights And The Diversity Of Groups, Bruce P. Frohnen

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Organizational Misconduct: Beyond The Principal-Agent Model, Kimberly D. Krawiec

ExpressO

This article demonstrates that, at least since the adoption of the Organizational Sentencing Guidelines in 1991, the United States legal regime has been moving away from a system of strict vicarious liability toward a system of duty-based organizational liability. Under this system, organizational liability for agent misconduct is dependant on whether or not the organization has exercised due care to avoid the harm in question, rather than under traditional agency principles of respondeat superior. Courts and agencies typically evaluate the level of care exercised by the organization by inquiring whether the organization had in place internal compliance structures ostensibly designed …

The Corporation As God, Douglas Litowitz

ExpressO

No abstract provided.

The Code For Corporate Citizenship: States Should Amend Statutes Governing Corporations And Enable Corporations To Be Good Citizens, Elisa Scalise

Seattle University Law Review

Corporations are important social actors. They are created by law and create products, services, jobs, and wealth upon which modem societies rely. Investments injected by corporations bring jobs, capital, and technology to communities, thereby raising living standards and creating derivative rights such as education, health and housing, and political freedoms. Modem corporations allow entrepreneurs to raise massive amounts of capital for large projects and research, which results in innovation and a wide range of products and services. However, these same corporations can also cause social harm. They are structured in such a way that it is possible for agents in …

The Economics Of Limited Liability: An Empirical Study Of New York Law Firms, Scott Baker, Kimberly D. Krawiec

ExpressO

Since the rapid rise in organizational forms for business associations, academics and practitioners have sought to explain the choice of form rationale. Each form contains its own set of default rules that inevitably get factored into this decision, including the extent to which each individual firm owner will be held personally liable for the collective debts and obligations of the firm. The significance of the differences in these default rules continues to be debated. Many commentators have advanced theories, most notably those based on unlimited liability, profit-sharing, and illiquidity, asserting that the partnership form provides efficiency benefits that outweigh any …

Bankruptcy Law And Inefficient Entitlements, Irit Haviv-Segal

ExpressO

The question as to the justification of bankruptcy law remains unanswered. The literature tends to emphasize the conflict and inability to compromise between the different normative outlooks of the insolvency law system. A deeper reflection on the existing theories of bankruptcy law reveals, however, that all theories share the same starting point: All theories share the understanding that efficiency considerations justify the enforcement of contractual bankruptcy arrangements. When the social theories call for increased levels of coercion and redistribution, these theories rely on normative considerations of distributive justice and rehabilitation values. They by no means rely on efficiency grounds. This …

Strict Liability For Gatekeepers: A Reply To Professor Coffee, Frank Partnoy

University of San Diego Law and Economics Research Paper Series

This article responds to a proposal by Professor John C. Coffee, Jr. for a modified form of strict liability for gatekeepers. Professor Coffee’s proposal would convert gatekeepers into insurers, but cap their insurance obligations based on a multiple of the highest annual revenues the gatekeepers recently had received from their wrongdoing clients. My proposal, advanced in 2001, would allow gatekeepers to contract for a percentage of issuer damages, after settlement or judgment, subject to a legislatively-imposed floor. This article compares the proposals and concludes that a contractual system based on a percentage of the issuer’s liability would be preferable to …

Ancillary Joint Ventures And The Unanswered Questions After Revenue Ruling 2004-51, Gabriel O. Aitsebaomo

ExpressO

Ever since the Internal Revenue Service (the "Service") issued Revenue Ruling 98-15… in which it emphasized "control" as a critical factor in determining whether a tax-exempt hospital that enters into a whole-hospital joint venture with a for-profit entity would continue to maintain its tax-exemption, practitioners and scholars alike have sought guidance from the Service regarding whether such "control" would also be required of an exempt organization that enters into an "ancillary joint venture" with a for-profit entity. In response, the Service issued Revenue Ruling 2004-51 on May 6, 2004.

… In Revenue Ruling 2004-51, the Service enunciated that a tax-exempt …

Investing In The Close Corporation: What The Minority Shareholder Needs To Know Before Giving Up Money And Power, Shawn Diedtrich

ExpressO

Much of the focus in business planning and choice of entity is spent on tax considerations, startup financing, and liability issues owed to the world outside of the entity. Little attention, if any, is given to fiduciary duties between the owners. Even if a discussion occurs, it is likely to focus on the duties of majority owners and/or managers. The surprise comes when a minority owner finds out it may owe a fiduciary duty to the majority—a non-intuitive result. This article attempts to serve as an aid to a minority investor before committing to the investment in a startup close …

Improving Charitable Accountability, James J. Fishman

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This Article focuses upon a persistent problem of the nonprofit sector--its lack of accountability to the public. Director, officer, and organizational responsibilities will be analyzed. Past and current approaches to secure accountability of charitable assets will be discussed, and a proposal for improving charitable accountability will be suggested through the creation of public-private charity commissions at the state level under the aegis of the attorney general.

Labor Rights, Globalization And Institutions: The Role And Influence Of The Organization For Economic Cooperation And Development, James Salzman

Michigan Journal of International Law

This Article has four sections. The first recounts the history of the OECD, from its creation as the overseer of the Marshall Plan to its current prominence as global economic analyst, and explains its operations. The second section explores its influence on the development of labor rights, examining the well-known OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, publications on trade and labor by the Employment, Labor and Social Affairs Directorate, and the events surrounding South Korea's accession to the OECD. Each of these activities, though quite different from one another (and, in combination, very different from the activities of other IGOs), provided …

Corporate Philanthropy And The Business Benefit: The Need For Clarity, Shelby D. Green

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

The need for clarity or harmony is the subject of this essay. Part II summarizes a philosophical debate between two scholars on the mission of the corporation. Part III briefly traces the historical development of the relevant principles and Part IV examines the actual philanthropic practices of several large publicly held corporations. Finally, Part V considers the continuing significance of the common law rule in light of these practices and urges support for the ALI proposal.

Standards Of Conduct For Directors Of Nonprofit Corporations, James J. Fishman

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This Article analyzes the standards of care and loyalty that should apply to directors of nonprofit corporations. It suggests that the movement toward corporate law principles neither reflects the differences in the types of nonprofit corporations nor provides a coherent rationale for the conduct regulated. The "trust law"-"corporate law" distinction has often centered upon the label to be applied rather than on an analysis of the principles involved. Too often the selection of the label has determined the result. At other times, the label has been used as a convenient rationalization of a socially desirable conclusion. This Article will attempt …

The Development Of Nonprofit Corporation Law And An Agenda For Reform, James J. Fishman

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This article examines the development of the law of “charitable corporations”' and attempts to explain why the charitable corporation rather than the charitable trust became the predominant organizational form for charitable and benevolent activities in the United States. It then discusses some of the inconsistencies of nonprofit corporation law and provides an agenda for future reform.

Toward Understanding Unlawful Organizational Behavior, Diane Vaughan

Michigan Law Review

The emergence and growth of regulatory agencies charged with controlling organizational misconduct has been so widespread that the monitoring and regulation of corporate interactions has itself become "big business," with the complexity of the regulatory agencies at times matching or even exceeding that of the organizations they regulate. The effectiveness of these efforts to control unlawful organizational behavior has been assessed in many different ways. The records of agency investigations, administrative hearings, and judicial proceedings provide data on enforcement actions, court decrees, trials, convictions, penalties, and other indicators that allow empirical estimates to be made. A realistic assessment of agency …

Corporations And Express Trusts As Business Organizations, Horace L. Wilgus

Books

The advantages of incorporation have long been recognized and frequently referred to in our law ... Upon the other hand the special advantages of Express Trusts have recently been stated .... It is my purpose to compare these two, -- Corporations and Express Trusts, -- in such detail as my time will permit, to discover, if perchance we may, something of the strength and weakness of each, for business purposes, under present day conditions.

Private Corporations, Horace La Fayette Wilgus

Books

This subject will be treated in the following order: The general nature of a corporation. Definition and history. The corporation as a person. The corporation as a collection of individuals.The corporation as a franchise. Corporations and other institutions.Tests of corporate existence. Class of corporations. Creation of corporations. The state's functions. The promoter's functions. The corporate charter. The association agreement. Organization. The body corporate. Members and organs of action. Internal relations. Corporate funds. Corporate name. Corporate life. Corporate death- dissolution. Corporate powers and liabilities. Powers in general. Classes of corporate powers.Particular powers. Ultra vires. Torts and crimes. The corporation and the …