This book provides a complete framework for contemporary shareholder activism and its implications for US corporate governance, which is based on director primacy theory. Under director primacy theory, shareholders do not wish to be involved in the management of the company; in the rare event that they wish to be involved, it is considered a transfer of power from the board of directors to shareholders, which in turn reduces the efficiency of centralised decision-making in public companies. However, this book demonstrates that shareholders do not use their power to transfer corporate control from the board to themselves, and that some form of shareholder activism is even collaborative, which is a new paradigm for US corporate governance. This book shows that while monitoring remains a key contribution of shareholders, they also bring new informational inputs to corporate decision-making that could not be obtained under the traditional board model. Accordingly, contemporary shareholder activism enhances the board's decision-making and monitoring capacity, without undermining the economic value of the board's authority. Therefore, this book argues that the complete approach of contemporary shareholder activism should be accommodated into US corporate governance. In doing so, this book considers not only legal and regulatory developments in the wake of the 2007-2008 financial crisis, but also the governance developments through by-law amendments. Furthermore, the author makes several recommendations to soften the current director primacy model: establishing a level playing field for private ordering, adopting the proxy access default regime, the majority voting rule, the universal proxy rules, and enhancing the disclosure requirements of shareholders. The book will be of interest to academics and students of corporate governance, both in the US and internationally.

Why and in what ways have lawyers been importing economic theories into a legal environment, and how has this shaped scholarly research, judicial and legislative work? Since the financial crisis, corporate or capital markets law has been the focus of attention by academia and media. Formal modelling has been used to describe how capital markets work and, later, has been criticised for its abstract assumptions. Empirical legal studies and regulatory impact assessments offered different ways forward. This book presents a new approach to the risks and benefits of interdisciplinary policy work. The benefits economic theory brings for reliable and tested lawmaking are contrasted with important challenges including the significant differences of research methodology, leading to misunderstandings and problems of efficient implementation of economic theory's findings into the legal world. Katja Langenbucher's innovative research scrutinises the potential of economic theory to European legislators faced with a lack of democratic accountability.

This book examines the conception of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Africa, expanding it's frontiers beyond corporate reporting, voluntary corporate charity and community development projects. Taking a corporate law perspective on CSR, the author combines theory and practice to explain how CSR interacts with of sustainable development and sets an agenda for effective operationalization in Africa. The book not only devises an enforcement mechanism towards embedding effective CSR and sustainable development in Africa but also addresses CSR greenwash on the continent. The author critically examines CSR practices, legal and regulatory techniques in Nigeria and South Africa in the context of contexts of international regulatory dialogues and shows how corporate socially responsible behaviour can be effectively embedded within business communities in Africa. Increasing our understanding of the theoretical, legal and regulatory frameworks supporting corporate responsibility, this book will be of interest to scholars, policy makers and practitioners in the fields of Africa law, corporate law, corporate social responsibility and African business.

Taking a text, cases and materials approach, de Luca's successful textbook remains the only offering for students of European company law, and has been thoroughly updated in this new edition. Chapters have been expanded to cover the latest legislation and directives on cross-border mergers, the use of digital tools, and cross-border insolvency, while figures and graphs have been introduced to help illustrate complex processes and relationships. Clearly differentiated explanatory textboxes from the first edition have been revised, and allow students to quickly identify sources such as EU legislation, official documents and excerpts from scholarly papers. The book explores a diverse range of topics, from what European company law is, to the structure of the Societas Europaea Statute, capital markets and takeover law. It continues to be an essential resource for the growing number of graduate courses in European company law, European business law, and comparative corporate law.

As long as insider trading has existed, people have been fixated on it. Newspapers give it front page coverage. Cult movies romanticize it. Politicians make or break careers by pillorying, enforcing, and sometimes engaging in it. But, oddly, no one seems to know what's really wrong with insider trading, or - because Congress has never defined it - exactly what it is. This confluence of vehemence and confusion has led to a dysfunctional enforcement regime in the United States that runs counter to its stated goals of efficiency and fairness. In this illuminating book, John P. Anderson summarizes the current state of insider trading law in the US and around the globe. After engaging in a thorough analysis of the practice of insider trading from the normative standpoints of economic efficiency, moral right and wrong, and virtue theory, he offers concrete proposals for much-needed reform.

Corporate law in the United States requires directors to manage firms in the interests of shareholders, which means never sacrificing profits in service of other stakeholders or interests. In this timely, groundbreaking book, David Yosifon argues that this rule of 'shareholder primacy' is logically, ethically, and practically unsound, and should be replaced by a new standard that compels directors of our largest corporations to manage firms in a socially responsible way. In addition to summarizing existing debates on the issue - and giving special attention to the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United - Yosifon explores the problem of corporate patriotism and develops a novel approach to the relationship between corporate law and consumer culture. The book's technical acumen will appeal to experts, while its engaging prose will satisfy anyone interested in what our corporate law does, and what it should do better.

In this groundbreaking work, Stephen M. Bainbridge and M. Todd Henderson change the conversation about corporate governance by examining the origins, roles, and performance of boards with a simple question in mind: why does the law require governance to be delivered through individual board members? While tracing the development of boards from quasi-political bodies through the current 'monitoring' role, the authors find the reasons for this requirement to be wanting. Instead, they propose that corporations be permitted to hire other business associations - known as 'Board Service Providers' or BSPs - to provide governance services. Just as corporations hire law firms, accounting firms, and consulting firms, so too should they be permitted to hire governance firms, a small change that will dramatically increase board accountability and enable governance to be delivered more efficiently. Outsourcing the Board should be read by academics, policymakers, and those within the corporations that will benefit from this change.

The tenth-anniversary edition of the definitive account of the Enron scandal, updated with a new chapter
The Enron scandal brought down one of the most admired companies of the 1990s. Countless books and articles were written about it, but only "The Smartest Guys in the Room "holds up a decade later as the definitive narrative. For this tenth anniversary edition, McLean and Elkind have revisited the fall of Enron and its aftermath, in a new chapter that asks why Enron still matters. They also reveal the fates of the key players in the scandal.

What happens when a corporate subsidiary or network company is unable to pay personal injury victims in full? This book sets out to tackle the 'insolvent entity problem', especially as it arises in cases of mass wrongdoing such as those involving asbestos exposure and defective pharmaceuticals. After discussing the nature of corporate groups and networks from the perspectives of business history, organisation studies, and social theory, the book assesses a range of rules and proposed rules for extending liability for personal injuries beyond insolvent entities. New proposals are put forward for an exception to the rule of limited liability and for the development of a flexible new tort based on conspiracy that encompasses not only control-based relationships but also horizontal coordination between companies. The book concludes with a general discussion of lessons learned from debates about extended liability and provides guidelines for the development of new liability rules.

Why and in what ways have lawyers been importing economic theories into a legal environment, and how has this shaped scholarly research, judicial and legislative work? Since the financial crisis, corporate or capital markets law has been the focus of attention by academia and media. Formal modelling has been used to describe how capital markets work and, later, has been criticised for its abstract assumptions. Empirical legal studies and regulatory impact assessments offered different ways forward. This book presents a new approach to the risks and benefits of interdisciplinary policy work. The benefits economic theory brings for reliable and tested lawmaking are contrasted with important challenges including the significant differences of research methodology, leading to misunderstandings and problems of efficient implementation of economic theory's findings into the legal world. Katja Langenbucher's innovative research scrutinises the potential of economic theory to European legislators faced with a lack of democratic accountability.

This volume examines the circumstances in which a shareholder can bring an action on behalf of a company (a derivative action), exploring how this remedy may be used to ensure good corporate governance, and laying out a theoretical framework and practical guidance for future development of the law. Derivative actions are an important aspect of the continuing debate about corporate governance in the UK, the US and many other jurisdictions worldwide. This book offers a conceptually inclusive approach to thinking about derivative actions by providing a detailed and clear overview, commentary, and a theoretical explanation of the law governing derivative actions in the corporate governance context. Reisberg provides a fundamental reassessment of the nature and objectives of the derivative action, and conceptualizes a new model of the derivative action mechanism. He argues that action should be taken in three areas: (1) conceptual (adoption of a new framework- the 'Functional and Focused Model' set out in the book) (2) strategic (employment of appropriate incentives and fee rules which advance the premises behind the Model) (3) maintaining doctrinal consistency (clarification of the interaction between the derivative action and other remedies available to shareholders) This book offers practical guidance on solving current problems in many jurisdictions based on case law, and on substantive legal, economic, and comparative research. It also provides a comprehensive and detailed analysis and commentary on the regime governing derivative actions under Part 11 of the Companies Act 2006 in the UK.

IP law has evolved from being a little pool to a big ocean. Corporate governance needs to respond to society's rising expectations of directors and boards as the impact of the global intellectual property ecosystem is felt. How can a responsible corporate culture of IP transparency be stimulated to create a rosy future to connect corporate communication with the desires of shareholders, investors and other stakeholders? The astonishing lack of material quantitative and qualitative information companies report about their IP assets makes it difficult for shareholders and other stakeholders to assess directors' stewardship of those assets - a pressing corporate governance issue in the 21st century. This book advances IP reporting in alignment with the key corporate governance principles of transparency and disclosure. It analyses the juncture between the IP ecosystem; corporate finance and accounting for intangibles; and corporate governance. Patents, mini-case studies and an original business triage style model for assessing IP disclosures are used to illustrate the gaps corporate governance theory needs to address. Focussing on the common law tradition of corporate governance in England and Wales, intangibles and IP reporting developments in other jurisdictions are also explored.

Diese Arbeit bietet wertvolle praktische Hilfe zur Vermeidung von ProspekthaftungsfAllen im Vorfeld eines BArsengangs fA1/4r Emittenten, Emmissionsbegleiter und deren Berater. Durch Wertpapierentwertungen geschAdigte Anleger und deren Berater erhalten einen Leitfaden zur Verfolgung von ProspekthaftungsansprA1/4chen. Nach A1/4ber hundert Jahren ist das BArsengesetz von 1896 durch das Dritte FinanzmarktfArderungsgesetz mit Wirkung zum 1. April 1998 im Bereich der BArsenprospekthaftung umfassend geAndert worden. Sowohl die alten als auch die neuen Vorschriften A1/4ber die Prospekthaftung im Wertpapierhandel werfen eine Vielzahl ungeklArter Rechtsfragen auf. Das Buch beinhaltet eine umfassende und prAgnante Darstellung der gesetzlich geregelten Prospekthaftungen nach dem BArsengesetz und dem Verkaufsprospektgesetz. A"nderungen durch das Dritte FinanzmarktfArderungsgesetz werden berA1/4cksichtigt. Daran schlieAt sich die Analyse der Konkurrenzproblematik im VerhAltnis zu allgemeinen HaftungstatbestAnden, insbesondere der deliktischen und bA1/4rgerlich-rechtlichen Prospekthaftung, an. Die ErlAuterung der Rechtsprechung des Bundesgerichtshofs zur BArsenprospekthaftung erfolgt aus erster Hand. Der Autor ist Richter am Oberlandesgericht in Frankfurt am Main. Er war von 1996-1999 Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter bei dem fA1/4r Bank- und BArsenrecht zustAndigen XI. Zivilsenat des Bundesgerichtshofs in Karlsruhe.

In recent years, the UN Human Rights Council has approved the 'Respect, Protect, and Remedy' Framework and endorsed the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. These developments have been welcomed widely, but do they adequately address the challenges concerning the human rights obligations of business? This volume of essays engages critically with these important developments. The chapters revolve around four key issues: the process and methodology adopted in arriving at these documents; the source and justification of corporate human rights obligations; the nature and extent of such obligations; and the implementation and enforcement thereof. In addition to highlighting several critical deficits in these documents, the contributing authors also outline a vision for the twenty-first century in which companies have obligations to society that go beyond the responsibility to respect human rights.

This book studies the response of the European Court of Human Rights, the international court that supervises governmental compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), to complaints submitted to it by companies and their shareholders. The protection of business vis-a-vis governmental regulation is hardly the main concern of international human rights law, yet it is not disputed that companies, and their owners, in principle enjoy protection under the ECHR. Such complaints are not unproblematic for the Court in Strasbourg, however. This book analyses the Court's reasoning in three groups of cases in which they have presented difficult issues of treaty interpretation. As the case law is streamlined in a minimalist fashion which obscures the Court's rationale, the book construes the structural framework within which the Court operates and explains how the relevant case law is largely coherent when considered against the general structure of ECHR protection. This book is the first major study of the protection of business enterprise under the European Convention on Human Rights and thus an invaluable guide to understanding how the Court in Strasbourg responds to corporate complaints. More importantly, by focusing on a field of European human rights law that is regarded by many as marginal and even objectionable, the book reveals the fundamental structures of European human rights protection, where the protection of economic activity and corporate life is regarded as inseparable from core values of the ECHR such as an effective political democracy and the rule of law.

This investigation of the barriers to and opportunities for promoting environmental sustainability in company law provides an in-depth comparative analysis of company law regimes across the world. The social norm of shareholder primacy is the greatest barrier preventing progress, and it also helps explain why voluntary action by companies and investors is insufficient. By deconstructing the myth that shareholder primacy has a legal basis and challenging the economic postulates on which mainstream corporate governance debate is based, Company Law and Sustainability reveals a surprisingly large unexplored potential within current company law regimes for companies to reorient themselves towards sustainability. It also suggests possible methods of reforming the existing legal infrastructure for companies and provides an important contribution to the broader debate on how to achieve sustainability.

The US Department of Justice is under fire for failing to prosecute banks that caused the 2008 economic meltdown because they are too big to jail. Prosecutors have long neglected to hold corporate executives accountable for chronic mistakes that kill and injure workers and customers. This book, the first of its kind, analyzes five industrial catastrophes that have killed or sickened consumers and workers or caused irrevocable harm to the environment. From the Texas City refinery explosion to the Upper Big Branch mine collapse, the root causes of these preventable disasters include crimes of commission and omission. Although federal prosecutors have made a start on holding low-level managers liable, far more aggressive prosecution is appropriate as a matter of law, policy, and justice. Written in accessible and jargon-free language, this book recommends innovative interpretations of existing laws to elevate the prosecution of white-collar crime at the federal and state levels.

Unlocking Company Law is the ideal resource for learning and revising Company Law. This 4th edition has been extensively updated, and this, along with its many pedagogical features, makes it the ideal companion for students studying Company Law. Each chapter in the book contains: * aims and objectives; * activities such as self-test questions; * charts of key facts to consolidate your knowledge; * diagrams to aid memory and understanding; * prominently displayed cases and judgments; * chapter summaries; * essay questions with answer plans. In addition, the book features a glossary of legal terminology, making the law more accessible.

Recent cases of corporate failures, including the fixing of LIBOR rates and money laundering issues in the banking industry, highlight how behavioural issues on the part of company directors are significant contributory factors in corporate governance and the success or failure of companies. This book examines how personality and behavioural issues have contributed to major corporate failures, and how this risk may be managed. The book examines behavioural risks in corporate governance, and evaluates the extent to which risk management mechanisms have acknowledged various aspects of behaviour. Drawing from cases in the UK, the US and Australia and research in psychology and the behavioural sciences, Ngozi Vivian Okoye argues that current corporate governance mechanisms lack provision for identifying and managing personality risks, and suggests how constituent elements of behaviour should be engaged with when developing preventive mechanisms for corporate failures. Okoye presents a conceptual framework for identifying and managing personality risks, and explores how personality risk may be built into corporate governance regulation. The book will be of great use and interest to researchers and practitioners in business and company law, corporate governance, and critical management studies.

This book is about the regulation of corporations that use bribery in international commerce to win or maintain overseas business contracts and interests. Recent large-scale cases involving multinational corporations demonstrate how large commercial 'non-criminal' enterprises are being implicated in substantive overseas bribery scandals and illustrate the difficulties faced by responsible enforcement authorities in the UK and Germany. The book imports concepts from regulation theory to aid our understanding of the emerging enforcement, self-regulatory and hybrid responses to transnational corporate bribery. Lord implements a qualitative, comparative research strategy involving semi-structured interviews, participant observation and document analysis to provide empirical insights into this relatively invisible area of criminological interest. Despite significant cultural differences between the jurisdictions, this book argues that UK and German anti-corruption authorities face procedural, evidential, legal, financial and structural difficulties that are leading to convergence in prosecution policies. Although self-regulatory and hybrid mechanisms are aiding the response and gaining some level of regulation, the default position is one of accommodation by state agencies, even where the will to enforce the law is high. This book is essential reading for academics and students researching corporate and white-collar crimes and the concept of regulation more generally, as well as law enforcement agencies and international and intergovernmental organisations concerned with anti-corruption.

Comprising essays specially commissioned for the volume, leading scholars who have shaped the field of corporate law and governance explore and critique developments in this vibrant and expanding area and offer possible directions for future research. This important addition to the Research Handbooks in Law and Economics series provides insights into subjects such as the role of directors, shareholders, creditors and employees; empirical studies of litigation and shareholder activism; executive compensation; corporate gatekeepers; comparative law; and behavioral approaches to law and finance. Topics are organized within five sections: corporate constituencies, insider governance, gatekeepers, jurisdiction, and new theory. Taken as a whole, the volume serves as an introduction for those new to the field and as a reference for those unfamiliar with some of the topics discussed. Authoritative and accessible, the Research Handbook on the Economics of Corporate Law will be a valuable resource for students, scholars, and practitioners of corporate law and economics. Contributors: R.B. Ahdieh, V. Atanasov, S.M. Bainbridge, B. Black, M.M. Blair, M.T. Bodie, C.S. Ciccotello, D.C. Clarke, L.A. Cunningham, A. Darbellay, S.M. Davidoff, L.M. Fairfax, F. Ferri, J.E. Fisch, T. Frankel, R.J. Gilson, S.J. Griffith, C.A. Hill, R. Kraakman, D.C. Langevoort, I.B. Lee, B.H. McDonnell, R.W. Painter, F. Partnoy, D.G. Smith, R.S. Thomas, R.B. Thompson, D.I. Walker, C.K. Whitehead

From the late 20th Century, a catalogue of high profile disasters and controversies has drawn attention to the changing relationship between corporations and society. This is taking place against the context of globalisation and this change has become the driving force for demands that corporations become socially responsible. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has therefore emerged as a concept which attempts to encapsulate these demands for social responsibility. Yet at the heart of CSR is the debate about the role and relevance of law. This book will explore the proposition that CSR is a valid legal enquiry and will suggest a law-jobs approach which offers a potential general analytical perspective for examining such fluid concepts such as CSR in law. This approach is innovative because of the insistence of some users of CSR on placing law outside the parameters of CSR or giving it a very limited role; however, Okoye argues here that the very nature of CSR as seeking legitimacy for corporate power pushes to the fore the question of what role law can play. Law is an essential and important aspect of legitimacy and thus this work explores a legal theoretical approach that holds potential for a legal framework of CSR. This interdisciplinary book will be of great interest to students and scholars of corporate law and business studies in general.

Analyzing the structures of transnational organized crime, this book considers whether traditional mechanisms and national jurisdictions can tackle this increasing menace. Highlighting the strengths and weaknesses in the present methods of control, the book discusses the possibilities of developing more effective national and international strategies, the creation of non-legal mechanisms outside the traditional criminal justice system and the implications of 'disruption strategies'. The roles of law enforcement officers, tax investigators, financial intelligence officers, compliance officers, lawyers and accountants - in enforcing both civil and criminal sanctions on organized crime - are also considered.

Effective regulation of consumer credit in modern society is an ever-changing challenge. As new forms of credit emerge in free societies, regulation often lags behind. This volume explores contemporary problems related to the regulation of consumer credit in market economies with a focus on credit extended to the most vulnerable and poorest members of the community. Written by experts in the field of consumer credit regulation from Europe, North America, Australia and South Africa, the book examines some of the most important consumer credit issues facing consumers today and proposes innovative ways to protect the consumer interest in those markets.