Dr. Ralph Walkling Heads ABA Subcommittee Webinar

On March 10, 2010, Dr. Ralph Walkling participated in a live Web cast and teleconference presented as part of the ABA Subcommittee on Corporate Governance's Inside the Boardroom series. The focus of this Webinar was on "Shareholder Activism - A Look at the Evidence."

The ABA's Mission Statement:

This Subcommittee will share information and ideas about practical issues found inside today's boardroom. Good corporate governance, characterized by appropriate process and full transparency, is essential to the efficient operation of publicly-held companies in the best interests of shareholders. If the proper governance structure embodied in charter documents and documented principles could be viewed as the "hardware" of good corporate governance, the manner in which directors view their role, and how they work among themselves and with members of management inside the boardroom, would be part of the "software." While there has been an upheaval on the "hardware" side of corporate governance, to date there has been relatively little authoritative guidance or available best practices for the "software" side. It is a working premise of the Subcommittee that, in the context of a public company with an independent board and other structural indicia of good corporate governance, there are learnings to be shared on how a highly functioning board conducts its activities inside the boardroom in the best interests of the corporation and its shareholders. The Subcommittee will serve as a forum to share these ideas, and, if a consensus emerges, will seek to develop and make available guidance by way of informal "rules of engagement" or otherwise, for more effective board dynamics.