Milestones To Steer By
from July/August 2005
It never hurts to pause and take our bearings. It’s good business and it’s good governance. That’s particularly true for directors who want to know just where they stand legally, buffeted as they have been by new reforms, courtroom verdicts, out-of-court settlements, and refocused shareholder activism. In this fifth annual special legal issue, we thought it would be helpful to identify the most significant sea changes over the past decade and explain the extent to which they affect how directors do their job. “ The Top 10 Legal Milestones of the Past 10 Years ." No surprise—Sarbanes-Oxley heads the list.
A number of experts on corporate law helped us put that story together. Some names will be familiar as sources in or subjects of past articles. Together they make up an impressive group that includes judges, attorneys, and academics. Among them: Judge Jack B. Jacobs of the Supreme Court of Delaware; Robert Strauss, a partner at Akin Gump in Washington, D.C.; and former Deputy U.S. Attorney General Larry D. Thompson, now general counsel for PepsiCo. William Allen, former chancellor of the Delaware Chancery Court and now a law professor at New York University, also serves on Corporate Board Member ’s Academic Council. See the end of " The Top 10 Legal Milestones of the Last 10 Years " for the complete list of those we spoke to.
We invited some of our core readers—corporate board members—to weigh in on a not-unrelated subject, namely what seems to be the record number of lawyers who have become regulars in the boardroom. Do they help or hinder? Are they holding you back from making creative decisions? What would you like to see them do differently? For the answers, please read “ How Directors Must Work With Lawyers Today . ”
Attorneys have never gotten particularly good press—sometimes with cause, sometimes not. What’s often forgotten is that most of them spend at least part of their time doing pro bono work. “ Lives That Legal Angels Saved ” puts a human face on the law by portraying some beneficiaries of these donated efforts, including a victim of the foster-care system, an immigrant who fled torture and probable death—and a would-be lawyer.
And yes, once again we bring you the top law firms in the country, nationally and locally, as ranked by more than 1,200 directors. Please see t
he
national top 20
and t
he local listings, covering
25 metropolitan areas
.
