Lorraine Talbot

I am Professor of Company Law in Context at Birmingham University. I have taught and published on contextual and critical approaches to company law, corporate governance and business organisations for nearly 20 years. My work is concerned with the tension between labour and capital in the company and how the company might become a force for social progress. My 2013 book 'Progressive Corporate Governance for the 21st Century' (Routledge 2013 and 2014) shows how political choices determine the shape of the company and whether companies will operate in the interests of investment or in the interests of labour and the wider community. The book draws on historical, comparative, theoretical and legal sources. My 2014 book, 'Great Debates in Company Law', in Palgrave’s Great Debates series draws out the vigorous political debates that reside within this subject. The second edition of 'Critical Company Law' was published in 2015 and my latest book, an edited collection with Prof Andrew Johnston, 'Great Debates in Corporate and Commercial Law' (Palgrave) was published in 2019. I convened the company law stream for the Society of Legal Scholars from 2013-19 and I am one of the Co-ordinating Lead Authors in the International Panel for Social Progress. From 2015-17 I held a Leverhulme Research Fellowship for a project named 'Making the Company Fit for Social Purpose'. I currently edit a blog on Social Justice and Sustainability with the University of Oslo.