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Robert C. Clark (born 1944) is an American legal scholar at
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
, where he is Distinguished Service Professor, Emeritus and the Austin Wakeman Scott Professor of Law, Emeritus at
Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...
. He previously served as dean and professor of law at Harvard Law School from 1989 to 2003. Clark is recognized as a leading authority in
corporate law Corporate law (also known as company law or enterprise law) is the body of law governing the rights, relations, and conduct of persons, companies, organizations and businesses. The term refers to the legal practice of law relating to corpora ...
and
corporate governance Corporate governance refers to the mechanisms, processes, practices, and relations by which corporations are controlled and operated by their boards of directors, managers, shareholders, and stakeholders. Definitions "Corporate governance" may ...
.


Career

Clark earned his
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
in theology from Maryknoll College in 1966, his
Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...
in philosophy from
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
in 1971, and his
Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...
from
Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...
in 1972. From 1972 to 1974, Clark was an associate with the Boston law firm of Ropes and Gray, where he practiced commercial and corporate law. After this, Clark spent four years on the faculty of
Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...
, where he became a tenured professor. In 1979, he returned to Harvard Law School as a professor of law. Clark has also consulted for law firms and government agencies, and he testified before various Congressional committees and subcommittees on regulation of financial institutions. Clark was the Dean and Royall Professor of Law at Harvard Law School from 1989 through July 2003. Under Clark's leadership as Dean, the Harvard Law School was said to have "more than quadrupled its endowment, strengthened its curriculum and research programs, expanded the faculty and significantly improved its student-faculty ratio." In November 2002, Clark announced plans to conclude his service as Dean on June 30, 2003.
Elena Kagan Elena Kagan ( ; born April 28, 1960) is an American lawyer who serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was Elena Kagan Supreme Court nomination ...
was named as the next Dean of the Harvard Law School, beginning July 1, 2003. On December 16, 2003,
Time Warner Warner Media, LLC ( doing business as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned by AT&T. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City. It was established as Time Warne ...
announced that its board of directors elected Clark to join on the board in January 2004 and serve on its Nominating and Governance Committee and its Audit and Finance Committee.


Personal life

Clark was born in 1944 in
New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
. He is married to Kathleen Tighe Clark and they have two children.


Publications

;Books *''Corporate Law'' (1986) ;Articles *"Major Trends Lead Us Back to Basics," 31 Journal of Corporate Law 591 (2006). *"Moral Systems in the Regulation of Nonprofits: How Value Commitments Matter," Hauser Center Working Papers, October 2006, at No. 33.6. *"Corporate Governance Changes in the Wake of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act: A Morality Tale for Policymakers Too," 22 Georgia State Law Review 251 (2005). *"Why So Many Lawyers? Are They Good or Bad?" 61 Fordham Law Review 275 (1993). *"Contracts, Elites and Traditions in the Making of Corporate Law," 89 Columbia Law Review 7 (1989). *Corporate Law (Little, Brown 1986). *"The Four Stages of Capitalism," 94 Harvard Law Review 561 (1981). *"Does the Nonprofit Form Fit the Health Care Industry?" 93 Harvard Law Review 1416 (1980).


See also

*
US corporate law United States corporate law regulates the governance, finance and power of corporations in US law. Every state and territory has its own basic corporate code, while federal law creates minimum standards for trade in company shares and governa ...


References


External links


Clark's faculty profile page at Harvard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Robert C. 1944 births Living people Deans of Harvard Law School Harvard Law School alumni Harvard Law School faculty Columbia University alumni Warner Bros. Discovery people 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers Ropes & Gray associates