Lucian Bebchuk

Lucian Bebchuk serves as the James Barr Ames Professor of Law, Economics, and Finance, and the Founding Director of the Program on Corporate Governance at Harvard Law School. Bebchuk is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, Inaugural Fellow of the European Corporate Governance Network, and Director of the SSRN Corporate Governance Network. Trained in both law and economics, Professor Bebchuk holds an LL.M. and S.J.D. from Harvard Law School and an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Economics from the Harvard Economics Department. His research focuses on corporate governance, law and finance, and law and economics. Upon electing him to membership in 2000, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences cited him as "[o]ne of the nation's leading scholars of law and economics," who "has made major contribution to the study of corporate control, governance, and insolvency." He currently serves as Senior Advisor to Dimensional Fund Advisors.

Tesla Directors Took a Big Accounting Bet With No Independent Accounting Advice

Lucian Bebchuk and Robert Jackson argue that the Tesla board’s prediction that restoring Musk’s old pay package would require no new compensation charge to Tesla’s financial statement seems not to have been based on any independent accounting advice. This could carry substantial risks for Tesla stockholders.

Tesla Should Take the Court Decision Seriously, Not Dismissively

Lucian Bebchuk argues that, in response to the Delaware court decision invalidating the 2018 pay grant to Elon Musk, the Tesla board did not react with contrition and an attempt to improve its governance, but rather followed an approach of dismissal and defiance.

Tesla Is Short on Director Independence

Lucian Bebchuk and Robert Jackson discuss how Tesla is failing to bolster director independence despite a highly critical court opinion.

Tesla Investors Deserve Musk’s Attention

Lucian Bebchuk and Robert Jackson argue that Tesla’s proposal to ratify Elon Musk’s $50 billion pay package would fail to secure Musk’s devotion of time and effort to Tesla rather than other endeavors, just as its past pay arrangement did.

The Elephant in Tesla’s Boardroom

Lucian Bebchuk and Robert Jackson discuss how Elon Musk’s threat to develop AI projects outside Tesla may distort investors’ votes on restoring his large options grant.

How the Start-Up Nation Could Fail

Lucian Bebchuk and Oliver Hart explain why Israel’s proposed legal transformation would undermine not only its democracy but also its economy. Israel’s ruling coalition is...

Twitter’s Corporate Leaders Pushed their Stakeholders under the (Musk) Bus

In a new study, we examine whether, in negotiating the sale to Elon Musk, Twitter’s corporate leaders took into account the commitments to employees...

Have Business Roundtable Companies Lived Up to Their Stakeholder Commitments?  

In 2019, more than 100 CEOs of US public companies signed a Business Roundtable statement in which they pledged to deliver value to all...

How Enlightened is Enlightened Shareholder Value?

There has been growing support for replacing the traditional corporate purpose with so-called “enlightened shareholder value,” which would guide firms to consider stakeholder interests...

The Flaws and Limits of ESG-Based Compensation

Companies increasingly use ESG metrics in their compensation packages for CEOs. A new empirical study suggests that this practice has questionable promise and produces...

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