Abstract: We often hear that hardly anyone wants to sit on corporate boards these days,
largely because they fear personal liability. Our investigation of seven representative
countries (Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and the United States)
suggests that the liability concern is overdone. Although there are good reasons for
outside directors to fulfill their duties diligently, fear of liability should not be one of
them. Outside directors face only a tiny risk of paying damages or legal fees out of their
own pockets.†
Keywords: corporate governance, director liability, fiduciary duty, securities law, securities class
actions, law and finance, director duties.