The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu The leading online blog in the fields of corporate governance and financial regulation. Mon, 27 Apr 2026 13:20:01 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.8 https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/cropped-photography-4-e1706898544564-1-32x32.png Some Thoughts for Boards of Directors in 2021 – The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu 32 32 Some Thoughts for Boards of Directors in 2021 https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2020/12/08/some-thoughts-for-boards-of-directors-in-2021/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=some-thoughts-for-boards-of-directors-in-2021 https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2020/12/08/some-thoughts-for-boards-of-directors-in-2021/#comments Tue, 08 Dec 2020 14:31:17 +0000 https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/?p=135173?d=20201208093117EST Posted by Martin Lipton, Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz, on Tuesday, December 8, 2020
Editor's Note:

Martin Lipton is a founding partner of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, specializing in mergers and acquisitions and matters affecting corporate policy and strategy. This post is based on a Wachtell Lipton memorandum by Mr. Lipton, Steven A. Rosenblum, Karessa L. Cain, Hannah Clark, and Bita Assad. Related research from the Program on Corporate Governance includes The Illusory Promise of Stakeholder Governance by Lucian A. Bebchuk and Roberto Tallarita (discussed on the Forum here); For Whom Corporate Leaders Bargain by Lucian A. Bebchuk, Kobi Kastiel, and Roberto Tallarita (discussed on the Forum here); and Toward Fair and Sustainable Capitalism by Leo E. Strine, Jr (discussed on the Forum here).

Many of the challenges that corporations and their boards have encountered in 2020 will continue to be front and center in 2021, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the movement to address racial injustice and broad-based socioeconomic inequality, an accelerating sense of urgency around climate change, technological innovation and an evolving political and regulatory climate. These trends have underscored the key themes of sustainability, resilience and corporate purpose, and are prompting new perspectives on the ways that corporations must operate to manage the multiple stakeholder interests that are critical to the health and long-term success of their businesses. And, in this environment, boards are seeking to optimize their functioning and leadership role to navigate these challenges as well as the evolving expectations of stakeholders.

Summarized below are highlights and practical suggestions for corporations and boards to consider in the new year.

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