Corporations

This course will consider the financial and governance structure of the corporation in the context of the economic environment in which it operates. It will examine the function of legal rules, private ordering and other institutional arrangements in reducing the sometimes conflicting interests of shareholders, creditors, and management. Although alternative forms of business organization will be considered, primary emphasis will be on the publicly traded corporation. Special emphasis will be given to the tension between preserving the authority of the board of directors in decision-making while maintaining the board's responsibility to shareholders in the context of shareholder suits for breach of fiduciary duty, shareholder voting, tender offers and conflict of interest transactions involving directors or controlling shareholders. Federal securities regulation of proxy voting, corporate disclosure and insider trading will be examined.