-
Supported By:
Subscribe or Follow
Program on Corporate Governance Advisory Board
- Peter Atkins
- David Bell
- Kerry E. Berchem
- Richard Brand
- Daniel Burch
- Paul Choi
- Jesse Cohn
- Arthur B. Crozier Christine Davine
- Renata J. Ferrari
- Andrew Freedman
- Ray Garcia
- Byron Georgiou
- Joseph Hall
- Jason M. Halper William P. Mills
- David Millstone
- Theodore Mirvis
- Philip Richter
- Elina Tetelbaum
- Sebastian Tiller
- Marc Trevino Jonathan Watkins
- Steven J. Williams
HLS Faculty & Senior Fellows
Author Archives: Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation
Time for Self-Reflection and Pragmatism in the Boardroom
The recent study by the well-respected women business leadership group The Boston Club, in their Census of Women Directors and Executive Officers in Massachusetts Public Companies exposed “We are frustrated by the large numbers of companies that persist in ignoring the business imperative for a diverse board.” The diversity quotient is indeed problematic as the […]
Click here to read the complete post
Posted in Boards of Directors, Corporate Social Responsibility, Practitioner Publications
Tagged Boards of Directors, Diversity, Succession
Comments Off on Time for Self-Reflection and Pragmatism in the Boardroom
The JOBS Act: Lessons from the First Nine Months
Nine months have passed since the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (the JOBS Act), a package of legislative measures intended to ease regulatory burdens on smaller companies and facilitate public and private capital formation, was signed into law. While certain portions of the JOBS Act have yet to be implemented pending SEC rulemaking, the provisions […]
Click here to read the complete postLessons from a Jury Trial
A recent Yale Law Journal article describes a “striking trend in the administration of civil justice in the United States”—“the virtual abandonment of the centuries-old institution of trial.” In recent times, only approximately 1% of federal civil cases end in jury trials. Deep-pocketed companies often settle before trial because they fear that jurors will sympathize […]
Click here to read the complete postHedge Fund Activism Canadian Style
Hedge funds first began engaging in the assertive form of shareholder activism for which they are renowned in the United States, and the United States is where hedge fund activism has become most firmly entrenched as part of the corporate governance landscape. Nevertheless, hedge fund activism is a global phenomenon, with companies in numerous countries […]
Click here to read the complete post
Posted in Academic Research, Corporate Elections & Voting, International Corporate Governance & Regulation
Tagged Canada, Hedge funds, International governance, Shareholder activism
Comments Off on Hedge Fund Activism Canadian Style
Acquisition Financing: The Year Behind and the Year Ahead
Just like 2007… and not much like it at all. So it was in the financing markets in 2012. Capital flowed to non-investment grade issuers in amounts reminiscent of the earlier time. However, those issuers mainly seized upon rising debt investor confidence in order to consummate refinancings, repricings and dividend recapitalizations, while the banks that […]
Click here to read the complete post
Posted in Banking & Financial Institutions, Mergers & Acquisitions, Practitioner Publications
Tagged Acquisitions, Banks, Debt, Financing conditions
Comments Off on Acquisition Financing: The Year Behind and the Year Ahead
IOSCO Requirements for Distribution of Complex Financial Products
On January 21, 2013, the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), of which the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. is an affiliate member, published its final report on Suitability Requirements With Respect to the Distribution of Complex Financial Products. The report can be found at https://www.iosco.org/library/pubdocs/pdf/IOSCOPD400.pdf. The report sets forth nine principles relating to the […]
Click here to read the complete post
Posted in Banking & Financial Institutions, International Corporate Governance & Regulation, Legislative & Regulatory Developments, Practitioner Publications
Tagged Financial institutions, Financial policies, International governance, IOSCO
Comments Off on IOSCO Requirements for Distribution of Complex Financial Products
CEO Wage Dynamics
There is considerable debate over the level of executive pay. On one side, Bebchuk and Fried (2004) and others argue that weak governance allows executives to effectively set their own pay while disregarding market forces and shareholder value. On the other side, Gabaix and Landier (2008) and others argue that executive pay is determined in […]
Click here to read the complete post
Posted in Academic Research, Executive Compensation
Tagged Executive Compensation, Executive performance, Learning
1 Comment
Directors and Information Technology Oversight
The “IT confidence gap” Overseeing a company’s information technology activities is a significant challenge for directors. The pace of change in this area is rapid, the subject matter is complicated, and the highly technical language used to describe emerging technologies and evolving risks makes this a challenging area. And many companies are relying more and […]
Click here to read the complete post
Posted in Boards of Directors, Practitioner Publications
Tagged Boards of Directors, Oversight
Comments Off on Directors and Information Technology Oversight
SEC Enforcement in the Second Term of the Obama Administration
At the beginning of the first Obama administration, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or the Commission) was an agency on the ropes, with some knowledgeable observers even speculating that it might not survive the revision to the financial regulatory apparatus that was anticipated in the wake of the financial crisis. Although the […]
Click here to read the complete post
Posted in Practitioner Publications, Securities Litigation & Enforcement, Securities Regulation
Tagged SEC, SEC enforcement
Comments Off on SEC Enforcement in the Second Term of the Obama Administration