Professor Afsharipour Comments for San Jose Mercury News on Chevron Shareholders' Proposal
Professor Afra Afsharipour commented for the San Jose Mercury News on a set of proposals by Chevron shareholders who are pushing the company to stop using corporate money to influence elections. On May 27, Chevron will decide on a number of such proposals, including three that deal with disclosing the company's spending on political causes.
Professor Afsharipour said that the proposals come as a response to increased political spending on the part of corporations in the wake of a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision holding that corporations have First Amendment rights to spend unlimited funds to influence elections. The Chevron resolutions may have little tangible impact but will at least focus attention on the issue of political spending by corporations, Afsharipour said.
"It's all about the optics and the soft pressure on the board. So even if a resolution doesn't pass, it still brings the issues to light. ... Companies and boards are paying attention," said Afsharipour.
Professor Afsharipour's areas of research include comparative corporate law and governance, mergers and acquisitions, and transactional law. Her scholarship has appeared in numerous law reviews, including the Columbia Law Review, the Minnesota Law Review, the Vanderbilt Law Review, and the UC Davis Law Review.