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Counseling the Corporate Board

By Craig C. Martin and Christine A. Leahy
October 30, 2006

The composition of the modern corporate board has evolved into a complex and sophisticated governing body that places increasing demands on the lawyers. In the post Enron and Sarbanes-Oxley world, corporate boards continue to be comprised of directors with their own myriad personal and business agendas. These boards, however, have also become more mindful and responsive to watchdog agencies, and have a renewed focus on board independence, financial expertise and diversity. There is, therefore, an increased need for adaptable, experienced, and informed lawyers ' both in house as well as outside a given company ' to counsel the board and its members on these and other controversial issues. The best practices for doing so, including those addressing how to better understand the client board's structure, culture and goals, as well as the board member's personal concerns, is the subject of this piece.

Getting to Know You (and You and You and You)

The corporate board is not a monolithic group. Rather it is the sum of its constituent directors. Advising the board necessarily requires advising the individual directors. In order to effectively advise the board, lawyers need to know the individual directors, which provides a solid foundation for counseling the board on a panoply of issues.

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