Business Associations, Doctrinal Issues In

Business associations commonly include a wide variety of forms in most countries. In the United States, lawyers advising their clients typically use the proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company, or corporation. Among these, although proprietorships are the most common, corporations transact about 90 percent of all business and thus gain the bulk of lawyers' attention. Important corporate law issues today concern whose interests should be represented in the control of the firm.

Shareholder Primacy, Stakeholder Theory, and the Theory of the Firm

The primary controversy in U.S. corporate law is whether it should reflect shareholder primacy or stakeholder theory. Traditionally, corporate law has been shareholder centered. This doctrine, reflected in the recommendation of the American Law Institute (ALI) Principles of Corporate Governance, states that “a corporation should have ...

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