Corporate political contributions have been extensively regulated out of a concern that they provide corporations with undue influence over political decisionmaking. Campaign contributions, however, are not the main way that corporations influence public policy. Instead, corporate political...

The GameStop trading frenzy in January 2021 was perhaps the highest profile example of the reemergence of capital market participation by retail investors, a marked shift from the growing domination of those markets by large institutional investors. Some commentators have greeted retail...

In this paper, we examine the effect of country-level political relationships on SEC oversight of US-listed foreign firms, ranging from routine review of issuer filings to enforcement actions. We find that the political relationship between a foreign firm’s home country and the US is an...

Two developments are having an impact on corporate decisions. One is the increased engagement by institutional intermediaries, and a shift in the focus of that engagement from corporate governance to environmental and social issues. The other is a heightened societal awareness of diversity,...

As investor money flows into environmental, social and governance (ESG) mutual funds, regulators have raised growing concerns about greenwashing – specifically that a fund’s name will falsely suggest that the fund invests in companies that meet certain ESG standards. To address these...

The SEC’s proposed climate disclosure rule has generated substantial controversy. Among the concerns raised by commentators is that the rule is unnecessary because investors can obtain sufficient climate-related disclosure through private ordering. We examine one mechanism for private ordering...

This Comment Letter, signed by 30 securities law scholars, responds to the SEC’s request for comment on its March 2022 proposed rules for the “Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors” (the “Proposal”). The letter focuses on a single...

We study the role of attorneys as arbitrators in securities arbitration. We find that arbitrators who also represent brokerage firms or brokers in other arbitrations award significantly less compensation to investor-claimants than do other arbitrators. We find no significant effect for...