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The legal and fiduciary duties of directors
Author(s) -
Hyatt Jim,
Charney Bill
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
board leadership
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1542-7862
pISSN - 1061-4249
DOI - 10.1002/bl.38620057801
Subject(s) - fiduciary , shareholder , corporate governance , legislation , corporate law , anticipation (artificial intelligence) , business , law , accounting , law and economics , political science , economics , finance , duty , artificial intelligence , computer science
Board members generally recognize that they have “legal duties” but rarely have even the most basic knowledge of what these responsibilities are. In today's competitive environ ment, such a lack of understanding involves enormous risk. Unprecedented headlines about boardroom debacles, shareholder lawsuits being heard in jurisdictions previously considered favorable to corporate interests, and the passage of the Sarbanes‐Oxley Act and widespread anticipation of similar legislation affecting the nonprofit sector have raised many new questions about Policy Governance and how it might help boards and board members fulfill their legal duties. In this article, Jim Hyatt and Bill Charney provide a pnmer on these basic responsibilities.