This website uses cookies to help us give you the best experience when you visit our website. By continuing to use this website, you consent to our use of these cookies.
Read more
Settlements reached in 2005 in securities litigation involving Enron and WorldCom highlighted the financial risks faced by outside directors of public companies.
We argue elsewhere that Enron and WorldCom, as instances where directors made damages payments out of their own pockets, are and likely will remain exceptional in the United States (see Bernard Black, Brian Cheffins and Michael Klausner, Outside Director Liability, http://ssrn.com/abstract=894921). In this paper, we show that the risk of out-of-pocket payment is likewise very low on a cross-border basis, in both common law and civil law countries. The largest source of risk is efforts by government agencies to make an example of particular directors, even when the cost of doing so likely exceeds the financial recovery. We study Britain and Germany in depth and offer summaries of the position in Australia, Canada, France, and Japan. We find that while specific laws quite often differ, there is substantial functional convergence. In each country we analyze, due to a combination of substantive law, procedural rules, and market forces, the out-of-pocket liability risk faced by outside directors of public companies is similar - present but very small. We draw upon our cross-border analysis to assess the legal risks outside directors can expect to face going forward, both in the United States and elsewhere. We also briefly consider whether the current approach reflects sensible public policy.
We are witnessing a quiet but quick transformation of corporate governance. The rise of digital technologies and social media are forcing companies to reconsider how they organize themselves and structure firm governance.
What is...Read more
Regulators generally have tried to address the problems posed by the excessive risk-taking of Systemically Important Financial Institutions (SIFIs) by placing restrictions on the activities in which SIFIs engage. However, the complexity of these...Read more
Retirement investing in the United States has changed dramatically. The classic defined-benefit (DB) plan has largely been replaced by the defined contribution (DC) plan. With the latter, individual employees’ decisions about how much to save for...Read more
What are the implications of artificial intelligence (AI) for corporate law? In this essay, we consider the trajectory of AI’s evolution, analyze the effects of its application on business practice, and investigate the impact of these...Read more