Publications

Register to Read

April 2022
Case

Marsha Simms: Trailblazer in Corporate Law

By: Robin Ely, Boris Groysberg, Colleen Ammerman and Olivia Hull

Follows the journey of lawyer Marsha Simms from her childhood in racially-segregated St. Louis to the upper echelons of the New York legal community. Describes her education, career choices, accomplishments, and setbacks. Highlights significant moments such as her... View Details

26 Dec 2017
News

Breaking Down the New U.S. Corporate Tax Law

September 2022
Teaching Note

Marsha Simms: Trailblazer in Corporate Law

By: Robin Ely, Boris Groysberg and Colleen Ammerman

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 422-012. View Details

20 Jan 2015
News

J.P. Morgan’s Witness and the Holes in Corporate Criminal Law

August 2017
Case

'Not so fast...' Litigation Strategy in EMC Corporation v. Donatelli (A)

By: Lena G. Goldberg and Danielle V. Holland

The sudden departure to Hewlett-Packard of a top-level EMC Corporation executive who had full knowledge of EMC’s operations, business plans, and key personnel ignited a bi-coastal battle between two fierce rivals that was played out in courts competing for jurisdiction... View Details

Keywords: Non-competition Agreements; Key Employee Agreements; Litigation Strategy; Law; Preliminary Injunctions; Jurisdictional Disputes; Conflict Of Laws; Lawsuits and Litigation; Strategy; Contracts

01 Mar 2004
News

Warren Law Remembered

School’s academic programs and played a key role in developing its international outreach, doing field research on multinational corporations and teaching top international managers in Executive Education programs both at HBS and in more... View Details

Keywords: obiturary; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

2013
Working Paper

Cross-Border Reverse Mergers: Causes and Consequences

By: Jordan Siegel and Yanbo Wang

We study non-U.S. companies that have used reverse mergers as a means to adopt U.S. corporate law (and sometimes U.S. securities law as well). Early adopters of cross-border reverse mergers and those firms that hired a Big Four auditor exhibited superior corporate... View Details

Keywords: Reverse Merger; Corporate Law; Corporate Governance; Nevada; United States

SSRN

Read Now

October 2012 (Revised September 2013)
Case

Creating the First Public Law Firm: The IPO of Slater & Gordon Limited

By: Benjamin C. Esty and E. Scott Mayfield

Slater & Gordon (S&G), a midsized Australian law firm with a high-growth consolidation strategy, had an initial public offering (IPO) scheduled for May 2007. Due to a series of regulatory changes in Australia in recent years, the IPO provided an opportunity for S&G to... View Details

Keywords: IPO; Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Law Firm; Value Drivers; Growth Strategy; Revenue Recognition; Roll-up; Consolidator; Initial Public Offering; Valuation; Consolidation; Mergers and Acquisitions; Financial Strategy; Growth Management; Corporate Governance; Business Strategy; Legal Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; Australia

17 Jul 2014
News

Joseph Hinsey IV, 82; Harvard professor shared law expertise

July 1995
Background Note

Managerial Duties and Business Law

By: Joseph L. Badaracco Jr. and Jerry Useem

Consists of excerpts from Principles of Corporate Governance, a set of legal guidelines that enumerates the principal duties of corporate managers and directors, including fiduciary duty, duty of care, and duty of fair dealing. Also addresses legal obligations relating... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Corporate Governance; Retention; Common Law; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Managerial Roles

12 Dec 2005
Research & Ideas

Using the Law to Strategic Advantage

Most managers think the legal department is that office down the hall where they go to keep out of trouble or write a binding patent agreement. And that's shortsighted, says Harvard Business School professor Constance Bagley. A company that makes proactive use of the... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Legal Services

January 2005
Case

Managing Failure: American Bankruptcy Law at a Crossroads

By: David A. Moss, Mary Oey and Jonathan Lackow

Introduces the core principles and challenges of bankruptcy law (both individual and corporate) against the backdrop of the early 1970s, when the U.S. bankruptcy system appeared to be failing. With personal bankruptcy filings at record levels and successful corporate... View Details

Keywords: Change; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Policy; Government Legislation; United States

26 Oct 2017 - 29 Oct 2017
Conference Presentation

Reconfiguring Competition: Corporate Law, Democratic Dissent, and the Creation of State Antitrust Law

By: Laura Phillips Sawyer

January 2004 (Revised September 2004)
Background Note

Confidentiality in Settlement Negotiations: Ethics & Law

By: Michael A. Wheeler, Dana Nelson and Gillian Morris

Legal policy has a long history of protecting confidentiality of negotiations that are designed to produce settlement. However, within the past several decades there has been a significant push toward openness. Compelling arguments support confidentiality: It helps... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Lawsuits and Litigation; Attorney and Client Relationships; Policy; Corporate Disclosure; Negotiation

2010
Working Paper

Law and Finance c. 1900

By: Aldo Musacchio

How persistent are the effects of legal institutions adopted or inherited in the distant past? A substantial literature argues that legal origins have persistent effects that explain clear differences in investor protections and financial development around the world... View Details

Keywords: Law; Finance; Corporate Governance; Practice; Growth and Development

Read Now

Awards

Corporate Practice Commentator. Top 10 Corporate and Securities Articles

By: Suraj Srinivasan

“The Changing Landscape of Auditors’ Liability” with Colleen Honigsberg and Shivaram Rajgopal (Journal of Law & Economics, May 2020) was recognized as one of the 10 Best Corporate and Securities Articles of 2021 by the Corporate Practice Commentator. View Details

September 2001
Background Note

Note on Application of the Antitrust Laws to the New Economy: An Analysis of United States v. Microsoft Corporation

Analyzes the 1991 decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in the seminal New Economy antitrust case United States vs. Microsoft Corp., 253 F.3rd 34 (D.C. Cir. 2001), which arose out of Microsoft's efforts to promote Internet Explorer... View Details

Keywords: Lawsuits and Litigation; Software; Intellectual Property; Monopoly; Laws and Statutes; Information Technology Industry; District of Columbia

June 2007
Article

Law and Finance in Historical Perspective: Politics, Bankruptcy Law, and Corporate Governance in Brazil, 1850-2002

By: Aldo Musacchio

Keywords: Law; Finance; History; Perspective; Government and Politics; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Corporate Governance; Brazil

Find at Harvard

Read Now

August 2003 (Revised August 2006)
Case

HealthSouth Corporation

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Ivan Cheung

Delineates how a for-profit health services business was created. Focuses on sources of financing, the impact of Medicare reimbursement, and Stark laws against fraud and abuse. View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Finance; Health Care and Treatment; Law; Rights; Health Industry