Douglas M. Branson, one of the top corporate law experts in the country, is a prolific writer whose work has been described as the best "traditional" corporate scholarship currently being done. The most recent book on his impressive bibliography is the widely and favorably reviewed 1993 treatise, Corporate Governance (Michie & Co.).

Branson, a professor at Seattle University School of Law for more than 20 years, joined the Pitt Law faculty in the fall of 1996. He has been a visiting profesor or lecturer at several law schools, including: the University of Alabama, as Charles Tweedy Distinguished Visiting Professor; the University of Oregon; Cornell University; Arizona State University; and universities in New Zealand and England. He also holds a permanent faculty appointment at the University of Melbourne, Australia, in its Master of Laws program.

His reputation as one of the country's most productive and thoughtful business law scholars has earned Professor Branson an especially influential role in framing the highly prestigious American Law Institute's recommendations for corporate governance. In addition, he is considered the world's leading expert on the corporate law aspects of Alaska native corporations.

Education

• Securities Regulation

Specialization

• Corporate Law
• Securities Regulation

Selected Publications

Books:

• Questions And Answers On Business Associations, (LexisNexis/Matthew Bender, Jan. 2012).
• The Sage Handbook of Corporate Governance, (with Clarke, T., Sage, 2012).
• Business Enterprises: Legal Structures, Governance, and Policy, (with Heminway J.M., Loewenstein M.J., LexisNexis, Apr. 2012).
• The Last Male Bastion – the CEO Suite at America’s Public Companies and Gender, (Routledge Press, 2010). Abstract on SSRN.
• Understanding Corporate Law 3rd edition, (Matthew Bender, 2009).
• Cases and Materials On Business Organizations (with Joan  Hemminway et al., LexisNexis, 2009).
• No Seat At The Table: How Corporate Governance and Law Keep Women Out of the Boardroom, (New York University Press, 2007). Abstract available on SSRN.
• Forensic Social Work, (2d. ed., with B. Barker, 2005).
• Questions & Answers: Business Associations, (LexisNexi, 2004).
• Questions & Answers: Business Organizations Law, (Lexis Law Publishing, 2003).

Scholarly Articles:

• Global Convergence in Corporate Governance: What a Difference Ten Years Make, The Sage Handbook of Corporate Governance, (with Clarke, T., Branson, ed., Sage, 2012).
• A Business Judgment Rule for Incorporating Jurisdictions in Asia? 3 Singapore Academy of Law Journal 23 (Nov. 2011).
• Nibbling at the Edges - Regulation of Short Selling: Policing Failures to Deliver and Restoration of an Uptick Rule, Business Lawyer (Nov. 2009) on SSRN.
• Still Square Pegs in Round Holes? A Look at ANCSA Corporations, Corporate Governance, and Indeterminate Form or Operation of Legal Entities, 24 Duke Akaska L. Rev. 203 (2007).
• Too Many Bells? Too Many Whistles?  Corporate Governance in the Post Enron, Post WorldCom Era, 58 S.C. L. Rev. (2006).
• Governance: Operations and Choice of Form in Schizophrenic or Indeterminate Entities, Haw. L. Rev. (2006).
• Balancing the Scales: A Statutory Business Judgment Rule for Hong Kong? (with Low Chee Keong) 34 Hong Kong L. J. 303 (2004).
• Symposium, Enron--When All Systems Fail: Creative Destruction Or Roadmap To Corporate Governance Reform? 48 Vill. L. Rev. 989 (2003).          
• Indiana Supreme Court Lecture: The Rule That Isn’t a Rule - The Business Judgment Rule, 36 Valparaiso L. Rev. 631 (2003).
• The Social Responsibility Of Large Multinational Corporations, 33 Transnat'l Law. 121 (2002).

Other Publications:

• Criminal Excess: Backdating Stock Options Jurist, (Nov. 29, 2006).
• Schadenfreude and Martha Stewart, Jurist, (June 6, 2003).

Presentations

• Presenter, “Corporate Governance in East Asia,” East Asia Law & Society, (Oct. 2011).
• Presenter, W. Edward Sell Keynote Address, Pennsylvania Bar Business Law Institute, (Nov. 2011).
• Presenter, ‘Pathways to Senior Executive Positions and Board Seats,” Pathways to Power Conference, Michigan State Univ. School of Law, (Apr. 2012).
• Presenter, “Diversity on Corporate Governance,” Business Law Section Annual Meeting, Allegheny County Bar Association, (May 2012).
• Keynote Speaker, “Achieving Diversity on Corporate Governance,” Corporate Law Teachers Association Annual Meeting, (Feb. 2012).
• Presenter, “Globalization and Corporate Law Teaching,” CLTA Annual Meeting, (Feb. 2012).
• Keynote Speaker, “Achieving Diversity in Corporate Governance,” Diversity on Boards, Univ. of Auckland School of Business, New Zealand, (Feb. 2012). 

SSRN Author Page

Selected Professional Activities

• Consultant, Corporate Governance Advisor to Winchester Thurston.
• Advisor/Fundraiser, Neighborhood Academy.