Professor Alan Dignam

Education
Trinity College Dublin. 1986-1990

B.A. (Hons) History

(1990-1992 Awarded Law Society Studentship to attend the Common Professional Exam and the
Law Society Finals at Leeds Polytechnic)
Leeds Polytechnic

1990-1991

The Law Society Common

Professional Exam.

Leeds Polytechnic

1991-1992

The Law Society Final

Examination.

(1993-1995 Awarded Dublin City University Law and Government European Union Doctoral
Scholarship in Law and Economics.)
Dublin City University 1993-1995

Ph.D. An analysis of
corporate legal structure
and the evolution of an
alternative ownershipcontrol system.

Academic Appointments Held

1998-Present

Lecturer/Senior Lecturer/Reader/Professor
Department of Law
Queen Mary,
University of London

1995- September 1998

Lecturer in Law
Sussex University.

1995

Research Fellow
Dublin City University
Business School.

Scholarships/Fellowships/Awards
Awarded the Fredrick I medal for contributions to Academia by the Department of Political
Science, University of Naples, November 1999.
University of Sydney, Parsons Scholarship 2002.
Visiting Fellow 2002/3 at the School of Law, University of Melbourne.
Appointed Honorary Fellow of the Centre for International Legal Studies (Salzburg) 2005.
International Visiting Fellow, Faculty of Law, University of Verona 2011.
Jean MonnetVisiting Professorial Fellow, Universit Paris Sud (Paris 11) 2012.
Visiting Professor, Queens University Belfast, 2013
Eversheds, Ernst & Young, Sino Group, Tricore, Noble Group Joint Visiting Professor Chinese
University of Hong Kong and University of Hong Kong 2013.

SCHOLARSHIP
BOOKS
Dignam, A. & Lowry, J. (2012) Company Law (Oxford University Press, 7th Edition, xlvi +568p)
"The narrative leads to both an understanding of the topic under discussion and also the
realisation that company law cannot be compartmentalised into clear-cut topics that can be
studied in isolation....surprisingly for a book of just over 400 pages, there are illuminating
references where appropriate to the theories underlying company law. This text.. stands out for its
clarity, whilst still demonstrating the depth of study needed in relation to some of the more
complex areas of company law."
Journal of Business Law, September 2004, pp. 575-577 (Reviewing a previous Edition)
Dignam, A. (2011) Hicks and Goos Cases and Materials on Company Law, (Oxford
University Press, 7th Edition, xl +649p)
Cases and Materials on Company Law is extremely easy to read and explains the key principles in
a logical and accessible way. By doing so, it ensures the text remains one of the leading text and
material books on this complex but interesting area of law.
The Student Law Journal 2008 (Reviewing a previous Edition)
Dignam, A & Galanis, M. (2009) The Globalization of Corporate Governance, (Ashgate, xxiv
+458p)
the authors usually adopt different perspectives and they are able to provide a broad
view of the globalization process that influences the change and transformation of corporate
governance in both insider (Germany) and outsider (UK and the US) systems. As a result, the
authors also provide a remarkable analysis of the evolution of the corporate governance systems
in Germany, the UK, and the US.

Corporate Governance: An International Review, 2011, 19(4): 397398

the authors fascinating insights on institutional development and resilience may prove to have
considerable resonance in the context of the rapidly industrialising BRIC countries or the financial
powerhouse states of south-east Asia, where conflicts between globalization and indigenous
institutions pose potentially seismic political and cultural repercussions.
Modern Law Review (2011) 74(6) MLR 977-981
The authors distinctive and modern approach as well as the evident topicality of the argument
makes their comparative analysis worthy to be read not only by scholars of corporate governance
from all disciplines but also by policymakers worldwide. In other words, it is essential reading for
all those involved in the corporate governance debate.
Business Ethics Quarterly July 2012, 22:3: 604-612
The book is evidently the fruit of painstaking research by the authors. The authors thesis and
arguments are extensively supported by theory as well as empirical data, and the use of graphs and
tables to enunciate principles is particularly helpful. A remarkable reflection of the books
multidisciplinary nature lies in the fact that its content and style obscure its authorship by
professors from the discipline of law. One may always bemoan the absence of reference to a
particular theory or the use of a particular type of institutional analysis, but that does not in any
way take the sting out of the completeness of this work. Overall, The Globalization of Corporate
Governance is a book that should find its place in the library of anyone with an interest in
corporate governance, particularly of the comparative variety.
Asian Journal of International Law January 2012 2 : pp 197-199
Dignam, A. & Allen D. (2000) Company Law and the Human Rights Act 1998 (Butterworths
xlii + 360p)
thoroughly researched and highly informative book From the historical survey in Chapter One
to the list of comparative sources of case law and materials in the final chapter, the authors show
the breadth of their interest in the subject and, aided by the clear and readable style in which the
book is written, manage very successfully to share that interest with the reader.
Cambridge Law Journal November [2001] pp.628-629
This excellent and highly readable book is really two books in one volumeCompany lawyers
will find reading this book a truly rewarding experience.
Public Law [2001] Winter pp. 824-826

ARTICLES
Dignam, A. (2013) Remuneration and Riots: Rethinking Corporate-Governance Reform in the
Age of Entitlement. Current Legal Problems 66 first published online February 7, 2013
doi:10.1093/clp/cus022
Dignam, A. (2013) The Future of Shareholder Democracy in the Shadow of the Financial Crisis.
36 Seattle University Law Review 2. pp. 639-694.

Dignam A. & Galanis, M. (2008) Corporate Governance and the Importance of Macroeconomic
Context. Oxford Journal of Legal Studies. Volume 28, Number 2, Summer, pp. 201243.
Dignam, A. (2008) The Globalisation Of General Principle 7: Transforming The Market For
Corporate Control in Australia and Europe? Legal Studies Vol. 28 No. 1, pp. 96118.
Dignam, A. (2007) Lamenting Reform? The Changing Nature of Common Law Corporate
Governance Regulation Company and Securities Law Journal,
Vol 25, pp.283-299.
Dignam, A. (2005) The Role of Competition in Determining Corporate Governance Outcomes :
Lessons from Australias Corporate Governance System. September, 68 (5) Modern Law
Review, pp.765-797.
Dignam, A. (2005) The Takeovers Panel, the Market Efficiency Principle and the Market for
Corporate Control An Empirical Study. Company and Securities Law Journal. Vol. 23, pp.
59-65.
Dignam, A. & Galanis, M. (2004) Australia Inside/Out: The Corporate Governance System of the
Australian Listed Market. Melbourne University Law Review. Vol 28 (December), No 3, pp.
623-653.
Dignam, A. (2004) Scholars In Estrangement: The Global Debate On The Superiority Of
Corporate Governance Systems, 15 Kings College Law Journal pp.404-409.
Dignam, A. (2000) Interesting Times: Human Rights & the Future of Company law Company
Lawyer, Vol. 21, No. 5, May 2000, pp.151-152.
Dignam, A. (2000) 'Exporting Corporate Governance: UK Regulatory Systems in a Global
Economy' Company Lawyer, Vol.21, No. 3, March, pp.70-77.
Dignam, A. & Galanis, M. (1999) 'Governing The World: The Development Of The OECD's
Corporate Governance Principles.' European Business Law Review, Vol 10 Sept/Oct, pp.396407.
Dignam, A. (1998) 'A Principled Approach to self-regulation? The Report of the Hampel
Committee on Corporate Governance' Company Lawyer, Vol. 19, No.5, May, pp. 140-154.
Dignam, A. & Tomkin, D. (1995) Report of the Company Law Review Group: Some
Observations and Comments. Irish Law Times, VOL. 13 (NEW SERIES), NUMBER 6, June
1995, pp. 128 - 132, Round Hall Press, Dublin.
Dignam, A. & Tomkin, D. (1994) Investigations and Inspections under the Companies Act
1990.Irish Law Times, VOL 12 (NEW SERIES),
NUMBER 2 (2-48), February 1994, p.26-28. The Round Hall Press, Dublin, Ireland.
Dignam, A. & Tomkin, D. (1994) Examinership: The Kentz Case
Irish Law Times, VOL 12 (NEW SERIES),
NUMBER 5 (101-128), May 1994, p.110-114. The Round Hall Press, Dublin, Ireland.

CHAPTERS IN BOOKS
Cocks L and Dignam A, The End of History for Anglo-Saxon Outsider Corporate Governance:
Are We All French Now? in Alain Couret and C. Malecki (Eds) (2010) Les Dfis Actuels Du
Droit Financier, Joly editions, 75-103
Multiple Contributor to the corporate sections in Cane, P & Conaghan, J. (Eds) (2008) The New
Oxford Companion to Law, Oxford University Press (lxxv + 1306).
Dignam, A. & Birds, J. (2013) A Companys Members in Birds J. (Ed) The Annotated
Companies Acts, Oxford University Press, 3rd Edition, Chapter 8.
Dignam, A. (2013) Interests in a Companies Shares in Birds J. (Ed) The Annotated
Companies Acts, Oxford University Press, 3rd Edition, Chapter 22.
Dignam A. Annual Returns and Directors Reports in Alcock (ed) Gore Brown on Companies
(2006) Chapter 34.
Dignam, A. (2004) Companies and the Human Rights Act 1998: a Model for Domestic
Implementation in Eastern Europe? in: Campbell, D. (Ed) The Comparative Law Yearbook
of International Business Kluwer Law International Vol. 26 pp.473-539.
Dignam, A. (2001) Italian Corporate Governance: The UK Experience and Lessons for Italys
Emerging Corporate Governance Programme in Buonocore & Costi (2001) Giurisprudenza
Commerciale: I Mercati Finanziari E Gli Investitori Istituzionali, Giuffr. pp. 43-51
Dignam, A. & Tomkin, D. (1995) Company Law in Byrne & Binchy (1995) The Annual
Review of Irish Law 1992. The Round Hall Press, Dublin, Ireland, Published November 1995,
pp. 52-103.

WORK IN PROGRESS
The Empirics of British Corporate Disregard (With Peter Oh, University of Pittsburgh) This paper
empirically examines piercing and lifting the corporate veil using a dataset of all electronically
available British opinions from 1588 to 2010. The study tracks the prevalence of judicial corporate
disregard over time, the rationale applied and the individual disregard rate for each judge. The
headline results reveal that veil piercing and veil lifting do not occur more often in Contract
versus Tort, but do enjoy greater success against individual rather than corporate shareholders,
Adams v Cape Industries (1990) produced a counterintuitive wave of litigation that created a
significant challenge to the Salomon doctrine and certain individual judges (Lord Denning in
particular) have been disproportionately influential in overturning the Salomon doctrine.
Dissemination: Already given as a paper at 2012 SLS Bristol. Currently8 the paper is being revised
based on feedback. The paper will be given again at the Canadian Law and Economics
Association Annual Conference in September 2013 and then submitted to a leading law journal.

ADVISORY POSITIONS
Since 2001 Professor Dignam has been an adviser on Amnesty Internationals corporate Human
Rights and Corporate responsibility campaigns working on complex aspects of corporate human
rights abuse around the world.
The Company Responsibilities Bill 2003 (129)
From 2001-2003 Professor Dignam was part of the team of Amnesty International academics and
practitioners that drafted the Corporate Responsibility Coalition response to the Company law
white paper. The response in the form of a bill was introduced as a private members bill in 2003.
South African Company Law for the 21st Century: Guidelines for Corporate Law Reform:
The South African Department of Trade and Industry (Notice 1183 of 2004)
From 2004 2008 Professor Dignam was a member of the Panel of International Experts
advising the South African Department of Trade and Industry on Company Law Reform.
Although Professor Dignam was involved in the drafting of the entire document above, his
primary responsibility was in drafting, along with Tshepo Mongalo (The director of the project),
Chapter 3 The General Principles of New Company Law. The resulting South African
Companies Act 2008 is based on this document.
From 2009-2010 as part of an IMF/US Department of Commerce project Professor Dignam
advised the Bahrain Economic Development Board on the reform of Company and Foreign
Investment Law.
From 20011-2012 Professor Dignam worked with the Uganda Law Reform Commission and the
Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee advising on the Draft Ugandan Companies Bill 2012.

OTHER PUBLICATIONS AND BROADCASTS

ITV This Week Feature on Corporate Killing 11/3/01
BBC Radio 4 (2000) Law in Action Feature on Corporate Killing. 25/5/00
The Money Channel (2000) Your Business Feature on Small businesses and the Human Rights
Act. 12/10/00
Dignam, A (2000) Company Law Harmonisation: The Draft Thirteenth Directive Queen Mary
Law Journal Issue 4 March, pp.26-31.
Dignam, A. (1999) An Astaire and Kelly Model of Argument Times Higher Educational
Supplement February 26th p.36
Dignam, A. (1999) Higher Dons Delight The Guardian March 23rd p.vi.

SELECTED CONFERENCE PAPERS

Remuneration and Riots: Rethinking Corporate-Governance Reform in the Age of Entitlement. Hong Kong
University May 31st 2013.
The Codification of Directors Duties in the UK. Hong Kong Law Society May 30th 2013.
Alan Dignam, (2012), Awesome Epic Fail: A journey through various paradigms and how to begin fixing the
mess left behind., World Economics Association (WEA), Conference, 2012, Rethinking Financial Markets, n.
3: November 2012. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2207353
The EU and Elite Pay: Is there an EU remuneration problem? Post-crisis Trajectories of European
Corporate Governance: Dealing with the Present and Building the Future 21st of September
2012, University of Leeds.
The Empirics of British Corporate Disregard, The
September 11, 2012 (with Peter Oh, University of Pittsburgh)

Society

of

Legal

Scholars

The Public Role of the Academic Lawyer, Plenary Session, Irish Law Teachers Annual Conference,
Athlone, Saturday Nov 19th 2011.
Understanding the Impact of the Financial Crisis:
Remuneration, Responsibility, Risk and Riots in the 21st Century, School of Law, University of Pittsburg,
September 21st 2011.
From here to late modernity: Where next for European legal Scholarship, Society of Legal Scholars (SLS)
Centenary Lecture, Trinity College Dublin April 1st 2011
The European Takeover Experience, Law School Paris 11 March 8th 2011.
The Morality of the Financial Crisis, University College London Jurisprudence Review Seminar Series,
3 February 2011.
Understanding the Financial Crisis: Pay, Risk and Responsibility in the 21st Century, UCL Current Legal
Problems Seminar Series 4 November 2010.
Directors' Remuneration, corporate governance and the Financial Crisis, June 22nd -23rd 2010 University of
Verona and Trieste.
The Globalization of Corporate Governance, Aston Business School Friday 5th March 2010.
Understanding the Financial Crisis: Pay, Risk and Responsibility in the 21st Century, Leeds Law School,
Monday 15th February 2010.
Transplanting Legal Concepts: Australia, the EU Takeovers Directive and a Crisis of Legitimacy in EU
Economic Regulation. The European Takeover Forum, University College Dublin Friday 4th
December 2009.
Pay and Responsibility in the Noughties, UCL conference on Executive Remuneration and Board
Responsibilities: A New Paradigm?
Wednesday 25th November 2009.
UK Corporate Subsidiary Use, Vanderbilt University Law School Friday 6th November 2010.
Corporate Ownership and Control: Economic, Historical and Legal Aspects Cambridge Law Faculty,

Monday 12th January 2009.

Insider Corporate Governance Legal Models and the Importance of Macroeconomic Context, University of
Sussex Law School Seminar Series, Wednesday 20 February 2008.
Respondent to Martin Gelter and Luca Enriques Regulatory Competition and the Corporation in
European Corporate and Bankruptcy Law, Vanderbilt University Law School conference on
International Corporate Governance, November 9, 2007.
The Mistaken Development of Corporate Privacy Rights, Breach of Confidence and Trade Secrets
Conference, Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Law, University of Cambridge,
Faculty of Law, March 17th 2007.
Cumulative Causation and the Decline of Insider Corporate Governance Systems, Oxford University Law and
Finance Research Seminar Series Feb 28, 2007.
The End of the Managerial Corporation, Kings College London Staff Seminar Series Wednesday 8th
March 2006.
Corporate Governance Convergence, Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission Friday 12 March
2004.
Australia Inside/Out: Governance Determinants in Australian Listed Companies, Wednesday 17th
September 2003 at the Society of Legal Scholars Conference Oxford.
UK Corporate Governance: Stakeholders and the Diminishing Public/Private Law Divide. Tuesday 12
November 2002 as part of the Sydney Law Schools Corporate Seminar Series.
Who owns the corporate property? A Constitutional/Human Rights critique, Wednesday 3rd July 2002 W.G.
Hart Workshop The Idea of Property and Obligations in Law
The Human Rights Act 1998: Corporate Rights and Obligations, Ozannes International Conference on
Human Rights and Business, Guernsey, Monday March 19, 2001.
Corporations and Human Rights: Can Corporations have a right to Privacy? School of Law, University of
Sussex, Thursday March 8th 2001.
Companies and the European Convention on Human Rights, Faculty of Law, Queen Mary, half day
Conference Perspectives on the Human Rights Act 1998 November 2000.
Italian Corporate Governance and UK Regulatory Systems, University of Naples, Naples, November
1999.
Exporting Corporate Governance: UK Corporate Governance and the OECD Corporate Governance Project,
Institute for Advanced Legal Studies, University of London, Company Lawyer series London,
May 1999.

BOOK REVIEWS
Dignam, A. (2008) Review of Cases and Materials in Company Law by Len Sealy and Sarah
Worthington, International Company and Commercial Law Review, Vol.19, Issue 6, p.210.
Dignam, A. (2007) Review of The Human Rights of Companies by Marius Emberland,
Cambridge Law Journal, Vol. 66, Issue 2, pp. 463-465.
Evidence of International Standing
Referee for the Modern Law Review, Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, McGill Law Journal, Legal
Studies, Sydney Law Review, Governance, Journal of Corporate Law Studies, Company and
Securities Law Journal, European Law Review, Cambridge Journal of Economics, Journal of
Strategy & Management, Kings College Law Journal and the African Journal of International and
Comparative Law, on Company law, Commercial law, Finance Law, Competition Law, Corporate
Constitutional/Human Rights and Public/Private law crossovers.
Referee for Oxford University Press Clarendon series on Company law and Corporate
Governance.
Honorary Member of 7 Kings Bench Walk Chambers.
Peer reviewer for the Economic and Social Research Council.
Awarded special edition of Journal of Law and Society 2014 devoted to Post-crisis Trajectories of
European Corporate Governance.
Jean MonnetVisiting Professorial Fellow, Universit Paris Sud (Paris 11) 2012.
Invited to give Society of Legal Scholars Centenary Lecture 2011.
International Visiting Fellow, Faculty of Law, University of Verona 2011.
Invited to give Current Legal Problems lecture November 2010.
Appointed by the Irish Universities Quality Board as international reviewer for the Institutional
Review of Irish Universities 2009 onwards.
International Collaborator on Vanderbilt Sloan Project 2008-onwards.
Awarded Honorary Fellowship of the Centre for International Legal Studies (Salzburg) 2005
Member of the International Advisory Panel to the South African Department of Trade and
Industrys Company Law Review January 2004-2008.
Elected Convenor of the Company Law Subject Section of the Society of Legal Scholars
September 2003.
Appointed by Lord Millet to the Editorial Board of Gore Brown on Companies in 2003.
European Editor of the Company and Securities Law Journal 2005-.
Multiple contributor to the New Oxford Companion to Law, Oxford University Press, 2008.

Visiting Fellow 2002/3 at the School of Law, University of Melbourne.

Parsons Scholar, University of Sydney 2002. The Parsons Scholarship programme was established
in order to invite academics of high academic standing to make short visits to the Department of
Law for a period of one to eight weeks.
Successfully bid for and ran (with another colleague) the University of London WG Hart
Workshop in 2002. The conference entitled The Idea of Property and Obligations in Law ran
over three days with more than 50 speakers from the UK, the Republic of Ireland, the US,
Canada and Australia participating and with over 200 delegates attending.
Awarded the Fredrick I medal for contributions to Academia by the Department of Political
Science, University of Naples, November 1999.
Adviser to Amnesty International since 2001.
Until 1995 Member of the Irish Department of Enterprise and Employment Irish-American
Economic Advisory Board.

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