Ep.23 – Sarah Haan on Civil Rights and Shareholder Activism

Sarah Haan, associate professor of law at Washington and Lee University, joins the Business Scholarship Podcast to discuss her article Civil Rights and Shareholder Activism: SEC v. Medical Committee for Human Rights. Haan traces the civil-rights roots of shareholder activism and chronicles the legal history of SEC v. Medical Committee for Human Rights, a case stemming from activists' opposition to Dow Chemical's manufacture of napalm during the Vietnam War era. Although Medical Committee receded from memory after it was vacated as moot by the Supreme Court, Haan explains how it can inform contemporary debates over the meaning of corporate democracy. This episode is hosted by Andrew Jennings, a teaching fellow and lecturer in law at Stanford Law School.