This is the long-awaited third edition of this highly regarded comparative overview of corporate law. This edition has been comprehensively revised and updated to reflect the profound changes in corporate law and governance practices that have taken place since the previous edition. These include numerous regulatory changes following the financial crisis of 2007-09 and the changing landscape of governance, especially in the US, with the ever more central role of institutional investors as (active) owners of corporations. The geographic scope of the coverage has been broadened to include an important emerging economy, Brazil. In addition, the book now incorporates analysis of the burgeoning use of corporate law to protect the interests of "external constituencies" without any contractual relationship to a company, in an attempt to tackle broader social and economic problems. The authors start from the premise that corporations (or companies) in all jurisdictions share the same key legal attributes: legal personality, limited liability, delegated management, transferable shares, and investor ownership. Businesses using the corporate form give rise to three basic types of agency problems: those between managers and shareholders as a class; controlling shareholders and minority shareholders; and shareholders as a class and other corporate constituencies, such as corporate creditors and employees. After identifying the common set of legal strategies used to address these agency problems and discussing their interaction with enforcement institutions, The Anatomy of Corporate Law illustrates how a number of core jurisdictions around the world deploy such strategies. In so doing, the book highlights the many commonalities across jurisdictions and reflects on the reasons why they may differ on specific issues. The analysis covers the basic governance structure of the corporation, including the powers of the board of directors and the shareholder meeting, both when management and when a dominant shareholder is in control. It then analyses the role of corporate law in shaping labor relationships, protection of external stakeholders, relationships with creditors, related-party transactions, fundamental corporate actions such as mergers and charter amendments, takeovers, and the regulation of capital markets. The Anatomy of Corporate Law has established itself as the leading book in the field of comparative corporate law. Across the world, students and scholars at various stages in their careers, from undergraduate law students to well-established authorities in the field, routinely consult this book as a starting point for their inquiries.

This is the long-awaited second edition of this highly regarded comparative overview of corporate law. This edition has been comprehensively updated to reflect profound changes in corporate law. It now includes consideration of additional matters such as the highly topical issue of enforcement in corporate law, and explores the continued convergence of corporate law across jurisdictions. The authors start from the premise that corporate (or company) law across jurisdictions addresses the same three basic agency problems: (1) the opportunism of managers vis-à-vis shareholders; (2) the opportunism of controlling shareholders vis-à-vis minority shareholders; and (3) the opportunism of shareholders as a class vis-à-vis other corporate constituencies, such as corporate creditors and employees. Every jurisdiction must address these problems in a variety of contexts, framed by the corporation's internal dynamics and its interactions with the product, labor, capital, and takeover markets. The authors' central claim, however, is that corporate (or company) forms are fundamentally similar and that, to a surprising degree, jurisdictions pick from among the same handful of legal strategies to address the three basic agency issues. This book explains in detail how (and why) the principal European jurisdictions, Japan, and the United States sometimes select identical legal strategies to address a given corporate law problem, and sometimes make divergent choices. After an introductory discussion of agency issues and legal strategies, the book addresses the basic governance structure of the corporation, including the powers of the board of directors and the shareholders meeting. It proceeds to creditor protection measures, related-party transactions, and fundamental corporate actions such as mergers and charter amendments. Finally, it concludes with an examination of friendly acquisitions, hostile takeovers, and the regulation of the capital markets.

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.

Corporate law and corporate governance have been at the forefront of regulatory activities across the world for several decades now, and are subject to increasing public attention following the Global Financial Crisis of 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Corporate Law and Governance provides the global framework necessary to understand the aims and methods of legal research in this field. Written by leading scholars from around the world, the Handbook contains a rich variety of chapters that provide a comparative and functional overview of corporate governance. It opens with the central theoretical approaches and methodologies in corporate law scholarship in Part I, before examining core substantive topics in corporate law, including shareholder rights, takeovers and restructuring, and minority rights in Part II. Part III focuses on new challenges in the field, including conflicts between Western and Asian corporate governance environments, the rise of foreign ownership, and emerging markets. Enforcement issues are covered in Part IV, and Part V takes a broader approach, examining those areas of law and finance that are interwoven with corporate governance, including insolvency, taxation, and securities law as well as financial regulation. The Handbook is a comprehensive, interdisciplinary resource placing corporate law and governance in its wider context, and is essential reading for scholars, practitioners, and policymakers in the field.

This is an ambitious, original, fascinating and eminently readable study of UK company law in its European and international context. As well as doctrinal company law (whether purely domestic or European), it touches on theory and other laws, especially insolvency, fiscal and private international law affecting the corporate form. It provides insights that will be of interest and use to academic company lawyers across the world and should be on the reading list for any postgraduate course on company law. John Birds, University of Manchester, UK In this book, David Milman explains the significant impact and effect of global trends on the regulation and implementation of UK corporate law, exposing both the historical and future advancement of the global convergence (and divergence) of corporate principles in jurisdictions across the world. The treatment of the subject area is unique, informative and a compelling read. The exposition of the subject matter is thought provoking. The book is comprehensively crafted, exhibiting the author s enviable ability to import detailed and complex issues into a most readable text. Stephen Griffin, University of Wolverhampton, UK In this timely book, David Milman considers how UK corporate law has been affected by the forces of globalisation, arguing that this is not a new development, but rather is part of an historical continuum. He examines corporate law regulatory strategy in general, treatment of foreign shareholders and multinational groups, aspects of private international law and issues connected with cross border insolvency. The substantive chapters cover a full range of issues, from the harmonisation of corporate law, and the common denominators in corporate law principles, to the regulation of overseas companies and foreign stakeholders and transnational cooperation. The book concludes with a consideration of the wider issue of convergence in corporate law and examines whether total convergence is a realistic possibility. National Corporate Law in a Globalised Market is set against the backdrop of the progressive implementation of the Companies Act 2006 and the turmoil of the current world financial crisis. With a scholarly review of current theoretical and policy issues in corporate law this book will be an invaluable resource tool for academics and advanced students as well as practitioners.

The second edition of this text incorporates the latest changes to Australian corporations law, up to and including the Corporations Act 2001 and the Financial Services Reform Act 2001. Like the 1st edition, this text is written particularly for undergraduate law students. The book introduces students to Australian corporate law in a way that is informed by theory and policy. Throughout the book the authors draw upon materials from fields such as economics, sociology and politics to provide a contextually relevant account of modern corporate law. Ample references and pointers are provided to policy debates, contemporary issues, and to further reading. The authors bring considerable experience in interdisciplinary corporate law teaching and research. The authors aim to stimulate the reader into further critical analysis of corporate law issues, and to equip them with the capacity to respond in an informed way to future changes and developments. The book also encourages the reader to independently pursue further research in areas of corporate law. Each of the 25 chapters has been revised and updated. The book deals with: Introduction - the history of corporate law, and key themes and perspectives. Corporate Structures and Regulation - including the structure of Australian corporate law; ASIC's role and powers; and the role of auditors. Corporate Obligations - including corporate capacity; contractual and criminal liability. Corporate Governance - membership and meetings; directors' duties; shareholders' rights. Corporate Finance - including share and debt capital, the Managed Investments Act 1998, and fundraising. Securities and Takeovers Corporate Rescues and Winding Up

When used in conjunction with corporations, the term “public” is misleading. Anyone can purchase shares of stock, but public corporations themselves are uninhibited by a sense of societal obligation or strict public oversight. In fact, managers of most large firms are prohibited by law from taking into account the interests of the public in decision making, if doing so hurts shareholders. But this has not always been the case, as until the beginning of the twentieth century, public corporations were deemed to have important civic responsibilities. With The Failure of Corporate Law, Kent Greenfield hopes to return corporate law to a system in which the public has a greater say in how firms are governed. Greenfield maintains that the laws controlling firms should be much more protective of the public interest and of the corporation’s various stakeholders, such as employees. Only when the law of corporations is evaluated as a branch of public law—as with constitutional law or environmental law—will it be clear what types of changes can be made in corporate governance to improve the common good. Greenfield proposes changes in corporate governance that would enable corporations to meet the progressive goal of creating wealth for society as a whole rather than merely for shareholders and executives.

As a penetrating evaluation of the EU's capability to improve its corporate regulatory infrastructure and thereby attract more investors and business activities within its territory as a whole, this book offers insights to those interested in the field, from economic policymakers at every level of government to business persons and their counsel.

A small pamphlet about corporate law can greatly help a law student understand what corporate law is. This is because a small pamphlet will contain information such as the definition of corporate law, how it is practiced, and some of the key points of corporate law. A pamphlet can help a law student understand the basics, which means that they will not give a more complex answer when they are asked a basic question while taking law tests and essays.

The harmonization of company law has always been on the agenda of the European Union. Besidesthe protection of third parties affected by business transactions, the founders had two other objectives: first, promoting freedom of establishment, and second, preventing the abuse of such freedom. The European Commission issued its Company Law Action Plan in 2003. In this volume researchers of the Jan Ronse Institute for Company Law of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven present five chapters on the main priorities of the Action Plan: capital and creditor protection,corporate governance, one share one vote, financial reporting, and corporate mobility. The book also includes responses and ensuing discussions by reputed European company law experts.