Business Associations, Co-Sponsored by Constitutional Law

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The work of corporate law scholars and constitutional law scholars rarely overlap.  But the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United reveals the importance of corporate scholars understanding constitutional law and constitutional scholars having a coherent theory of the firm.  The First Amendment is a particularly salient battleground, with corporations increasingly asserting first amendment rights in what once would have been considered odd situations — as a defense to fraud claims, as protection against the liability of credit rating agencies, and as a basis to contest limitations on election expenditures.  This panel will offer the opportunity for corporate law and constitutional law scholars to debate and discuss a range of issues, including: an analysis of Citizens United from the perspective of corporate governance; the Court’s presumed theory of the firm; the debate over the constitutional significance of corporate “personhood”; and the implications of corporate political speech on the polity and on corporations.

Business Meeting at Program Conclusion.