‘Corporate Governance in the Common-Law World: The Political Foundations of Shareholder Power’

This is a free event but registration is required in advance.

The corporate governance systems of Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States are often characterized as a single “Anglo-American” system prioritizing shareholders' interests over those of other corporate stakeholders. Such generalizations, however, obscure substantial differences across the common-law world. Contrary to popular belief, shareholders in the United Kingdom and jurisdictions following its lead are far more powerful and central to the aims of the corporation than are shareholders in the United States.

This workshop is based on Christopher Bruner’s recent monograph ‘Corporate Governance in the Common-Law World: The Political Foundations of Shareholder Power’ (Cambridge University Press, 2013), which presents a new comparative theory to explain this divergence and explores the theory's ramifications for law and public policy. Bruner argues that regulatory structures affecting other stakeholders' interests – notably differing degrees of social welfare protection for employees – have decisively impacted the degree of political opposition to shareholder-centric policies across the common-law world. These dynamics remain powerful forces today, and understanding them will be vital as post-crisis reforms continue to take shape.

Following on from this, Professors Joan Loughrey and Andrew Keay will consider issues that emanate from Christopher Bruner’s paper. There will then be a question and answer session. After the workshop refreshments will be provided.

Christopher Bruner is the William Donald Bain Family Professor of Corporate Law at Washington and Lee University, where he also serves as Director of the Frances Lewis Law Center. He is presently a visiting Liberty Fellow of the School of Law, University of Leeds. His teaching and scholarship focus on corporate law and securities regulation, including international and comparative dimensions of these subjects.

The event will be followed by a light reception in the Liberty Building Atrium.

Location Details