Business Organizations Law Commons^™

Managing Corporate Federalism: The Least-Bad Approach To The Shareholder Bylaw Debate, Christopher M. Bruner

Scholarly Articles

Over recent decades, shareholders in public corporations have increasingly sought to augment their own power – and, correlatively, to limit the power of boards – through creative use of corporate bylaws. The bylaws lend themselves to such efforts because enacting, amending, and repealing bylaws are essentially the only corporate governance actions that shareholders can undertake unilaterally. In this Article I examine the contested nature of bylaws, the fundamental issues of corporate power and purpose that they implicate, and the differing ways in which state and federal lawmakers and regulators may impact the debate regarding the scope of the shareholders' bylaw …

Stalled: Gender Diversity On Corporate Boards, Barbara Black

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

In this essay, prepared for the University of Dayton College of Law’s Symposium on Perspectives on Gender and Business Ethics: Women in Corporate Governance, held on February 25, 2011, I discuss the lack of progress in achieving gender diversity on corporate boards.

I first review the numbers that demonstrate that progress is stalled, despite the attention and resources devoted to the issue by a number of well-respected organizations, legal scholars and institutional investors. I argue that, because this is an issue of equal opportunity, it is not really necessary to make a business case to justify increased efforts toward board …

Using Comparative And Transitional Corporate Law To Teach Corporate Social Responsibility, Franklin A. Gevurtz

Global Business & Development Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Beyond The Board Of Directors, Kelli A. Alces

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

Corporate Governance Reform In A Time Of Crisis, Christopher M. Bruner

Scholarly Articles

In this article I argue that crisis-driven corporate governance reform efforts in the United States and the United Kingdom that aim to empower shareholders are misguided, and offer an explanation of why policymakers in each country have reacted to the financial crisis as they have. I first discuss the risk incentives of shareholders and managers in financial firms, and examine how excessive leverage and risk-taking in pursuit of short-term returns for shareholders led to the crisis. I then describe the far greater power and centrality that U.K. shareholders have historically possessed relative to their U.S. counterparts, and explore historical and …

Using Comparative And Transitional Corporate Law To Teach Corporate Social Responsibility , Franklin A. Gevurtz

McGeorge School of Law Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

Organizational Management Of Conflicting Professional Identities, Cassandra Burke Robertson

Faculty Publications

Professionals in the military have suffered criticism for their failure to counter military excess in the so-called "War on Terror" - especially in the area of torture and maltreatment of detainees. Much of the criticism leveled against such professionals has assumed that they were bad actors who were making a conscious choice to avoid the strictures of their code of ethics. This Article counters that narrative by applying identity theory to offer a more situations explanation. It argues that some of these professional failures arise from the cognitive incentives faced by individuals in an organization that rewards organizational deference over …

Enduring Equity In The Close Corporation, Lyman P.Q. Johnson

Scholarly Articles

This Article develops the theme of change/sameness in corporate law. Written to commemorate the thirty-fifth anniversary of Wilkes v. Springside Nursing Home, Inc., the Article argues that the equitable fiduciary duties so central to Wilkes endure today in the close corporation precisely because equity, by its nature, is so exquisitely adaptive – under constantly changing circumstances − to the ongoing pursuit of a just ordering within the corporation. Unlike fixed legal rules – which are categorical, static, and do not take sufficient account of changes wrought by time or human arationality – equity is malleable and timely as it reckons …

Two Models Of Corporate Social Responsibility, David K. Millon

Scholarly Articles

The article discusses the two perspectives of corporate social responsibility (CSR). It states that the constituency model of CSR focus on the constituent elements of the company including shareholders, senior management, and employees. It mentions that the sustainability approach to CSR focus on the external relationships as well as the long-run sustainability of the company.

Delaware's Non-Waivable Duties, Lyman P. Q. Johnson

Scholarly Articles

This Article disputes the view - seemingly settled among scholars, judges, and lawyers - that recently - enacted statutes in Delaware legally permit fiduciary duties to be waived in noncorporate business associations. The argument is a rarity in business law because it is a constitutional argument, not one initially based on policy considerations or statutory interpretation, and it seeks to harmonize judicial review of fiduciary duties in noncorporate businesses with that in Delaware corporations, where waivers are not permitted. Delaware’s Constitution vests the Delaware Court of Chancery with general equity jurisdiction and powers of a kind that cannot be curtailed …

Benefit Corporations -- A Sustainable Form Of Organization?, Dana Brakman Reiser

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Good Faith In Revlon-Land, Christopher M. Bruner

Scholarly Articles

The Delaware Supreme Court has set a very high hurdle for plaintiffs challenging directors' good faith in the sale of a company. In Lyondell Chemical Company v. Ryan, the court held that unconflicted directors could be found to have breached the good faith component of their duty of loyalty in the transactional context only if they "knowingly and completely failed to undertake," and "utterly failed to attempt" to discharge their duties.

In this essay I argue that the Lyondell standard effectively imports into the transactional context the exacting standard previously applied in the oversight context — a move clearly aimed …

Recent Developments Concerning Preferred Stockholder Rights Under Delaware Law, Marilyn Blumberg Cane, Joong-Sik Choi, Scott B. Gitterman

Faculty Scholarship

This is a timely article focusing on the conflicting duties owed to preferred and common stockholders. Delaware is the leading corporate law jurisdiction in the United States. Preferred stock is a key component in angel and venture capital transactions. Historically the Delaware courts have accepted as a general principle the proposition that since the preferred rights are contractual in nature, they must be expressly defined in the preferred stock contract in order for the preferred to successfully assert those rights. Accordingly, the directors owe correlative duties to the preferred to the extent that the rights are articulated in the contract. …

Somebody's Watching Me: Fcpa Monitorships And How They Can Work Better, F. Joseph Warin, Michael S. Diamant, Veronica S. Root

Journal Articles

This article explores the rise of the corporate compliance monitor as a condition for settling violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) — a setting in which federal prosecutors routinely impose monitors. If U.S. enforcement authorities maintain their current approach, the reality is that companies facing liability for violating the FCPA are likely to have a monitor imposed on them as part of a settlement agreement. From the U.S. government’s perspective, monitorships make sense for companies that violate anti-bribery laws, making it important for offending corporations to learn how to deal with monitors. Pulling from the authors’ extensive …

Webcaster Ii: A Case Study Of Business To Business Rate Setting By Formal Rulemaking, Andrew D. Stephenson

UC Law Business Journal

This note argues that The Copyright Royalty and Distribution Reform Act of 2004 is unsuccessful at achieving its goal of an effective administrative system for determining copyright royalty rates between the private parties that make up copyright owners and copyright users. To prove this, the note analyzes the Copyright Royalty Board's rate-setting in the proceeding, coined Webcaster II, announced February 16, 2005, the final rule and order determined on May 1, 2007, and the subsequent decision of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals issued on August 7, 2009.

Paying For Daniel Webster: Critiquing The Contract Model Of Advancement Of Legal Fees In Criminal Proceedings, Regina Robson

UC Law Business Journal

This article examines the contract paradigm used to structure the advancement of legal fees to employees facing criminal investigation. It posits that the current contract model does little to advance the traditional goals of advancement and prevents consideration of the legitimate purpose of advancement: to support fair and efficient prosecution of white-collar crimes. The article proposes adoption of a duty paradigm as an alternative to the contract analysis of advancement. It argues that the use of a duty model will allow for a reevaluation of the purpose of advancement in whitecollar criminal proceedings and will encourage conscious consideration of legitimate …

Can The Rich Fend For Themselves?: Inconsistent Treatment Of Wealthy Investors Under The Private Fund Investment Advisers Registration Act Of 2010, Vijay Sekhon

UC Law Business Journal

In this comment, the author analyzes the inconsistent regulation of wealthy investors under the federal securities laws in light of the passage of the Private Fund Investment Advisers Registration Act of 2010. After summarizing the exemptions in the federal securities laws for wealthy investors and providing an overview of private equity and hedge funds, the author summarizes the regulation of private equity and hedge funds under the Private Fund Registration Act of 2010 and analyzes this regulation in light of the exemptions in the federal securities laws for wealthy investors. The author concludes with policy recommendations to eliminate the inconsistent …

Commentary: Campaign Finance In The Wake Of Citizens United, 44 J. Marshall L. Rev. 583 (2011), Thomas E. Mann

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Capitalist Joker: The Strange Origins, Disturbing Past, And Uncertain Future Of Corporate Personhood In American Law, 44 J. Marshall L. Rev. 643 (2011), David H. Gans, Douglas T. Kendall

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

So What If Corporations Aren't People?, 44 J. Marshall L. Rev. 701 (2011), Ilya Shapiro, Caitlyn W. Mccarthy

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.