Business Persons

Whereas recent decades of scholarship on the nature of the firm have stressed economic and finance theory, Orts frames the analysis as centrally about law and legal theory. The book employs an ethics-focused, multi-perspective approach and draws extensive parallels to the history and philosophy of law. It re-elevates the once-prominent roles of agency, contract, and property law and theory in asking and answering many of the classic questions about the firm [and] includes important insights into the modern taxonomy of firms and their shifting boundaries, as well as practical contributions to current policy debate ... Orts has been one of the leading voices advocating a more nuanced view of the firm, and he now delivers a thoroughly researched and foundational new book that is a must read for anyone thinking seriously about the theory of the modern firm. * Frank Partnoy, George E. Barrett Professor of Law and Finance, University of San Diego School of Law *
In this comprehensive study, Eric Orts takes on the economists and shows why law is essential to our understanding of the business firm. Anyone who cares about the future of business should be grateful for this addition to the literature. * Lynn Sharp Paine, John G. McLean Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School *
This book is a path-breaking analysis of the business firm from a legal perspective. As shown by the debate surrounding the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision, the question of corporate legal personality has resurfaced as one of the key legal and political issues of our time. Prof. Orts' book is indispensable reading for anyone interested in exploring the extent to which "corporations are people too." * Reuven S. Avi-Yonah, Irwin I. Cohn Professor of Law, University of Michigan Law School *