Outside Director Liability: A Policy Analysis

22 Pages Posted: 25 Jan 2006

See all articles by Bernard S. Black

Bernard S. Black

Northwestern University - Pritzker School of Law

Brian R. Cheffins

University of Cambridge - Faculty of Law; European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)

Michael Klausner

Stanford Law School; European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)

Abstract

Outside directors of public companies play a central role in overseeing management. Nonetheless, they have rarely incurred personal, out-of-pocket liability for failing to carry out their assigned tasks, either in the litigation-prone United States or other countries. Historically, as threats to this near-zero personal liability regime have appeared, market and political forces have responded to restore the status quo. We suggest here reasons to believe that this arrangement is justifiable from a policy perspective, at least in countries where reputation and other extra-legal mechanisms provide reasonable incentives for outside directors to be vigilant.

Keywords: outside directors, liability, corporate governance

JEL Classification: G34, G38, K22

Suggested Citation

Black, Bernard S. and Cheffins, Brian R. and Klausner, Michael D., Outside Director Liability: A Policy Analysis. Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics, Vol. 162, 2006, ECGI - Law Working Paper No. 59/2006, Stanford Law and Economics Olin Working Paper No. 319, U of Texas Law, Law and Econ Research Paper No. 54, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=878135

Bernard S. Black (Contact Author)

Northwestern University - Pritzker School of Law ( email )

375 E. Chicago Ave
Chicago, IL 60611
United States
312-503-2784 (Phone)

Brian R. Cheffins

University of Cambridge - Faculty of Law ( email )

10 West Road
Cambridge, CB3 9DZ
United Kingdom
+44 1223 330084 (Phone)
+44 1223 330055 (Fax)

European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI) ( email )

c/o the Royal Academies of Belgium
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1000 Brussels
Belgium

Michael D. Klausner

Stanford Law School ( email )

559 Nathan Abbott Way
Stanford, CA 94305-8610
United States
650-723-6433 (Phone)
650-725-0253 (Fax)

European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI) ( email )

c/o the Royal Academies of Belgium
Rue Ducale 1 Hertogsstraat
1000 Brussels
Belgium

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