Corporate Law’s Critical Junctures
77 Business Lawyer (Winter 2021-2022
University of Cambridge Faculty of Law Research Paper No. 25/2021
80 Pages Posted: 30 Jun 2021 Last revised: 2 Feb 2022
Date Written: June 2021
Abstract
What accounts for substantial legal change? With corporate law, many think a stock market crash is key. But not all crashes lead to reform. So, what else is necessary? This paper uses a “critical junctures” model borrowed from social science to explain when and why major corporate law change happens. The model indicates that a combination of a lengthy period of depressed share prices and a perception that business wrongdoing was integrally related to the slump are required to create the window of opportunity for significant and enduring reform. It follows that the COVID-19 pandemic is unlikely to serve as a catalyst for major changes to corporate law.
Keywords: corporate law, critical junctures, law reform, share prices, COVID-19, securities law
JEL Classification: G01, G30, G38, K22, N22
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation