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Corporate Law’s Critical Junctures

Accepted version
Peer-reviewed

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Authors

Bank, Steven A 
Cheffins, Brian R 

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.

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Keywords

corporate law, COVID-19, critical junctures, law reform, securities law, share prices

Journal Title

Business Lawyer

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0007-6899

Volume Title

Publisher

American Bar Association

Publisher DOI

Sponsorship
None