CLASS in Session: Early Career Researchers' Workshop on Socio-Legal Perspectives of the Corporation

Over the course of a few decades, socio-legal methods and methodologies have become increasingly important in law faculties. Having the benefit of learning from decades of movements (legal realism, law and society, law and economics, feminist legal studies, socio-legal studies, empirical legal studies, critical legal studies, and new legal realism), some early career researchers studying corporations and corporate law are beginning to use using both empirical and doctrinal methods in ways their predecessors might not have anticipated. It is important to develop this strand of corporate law research and to ensure strong collaborative links between socio-legal studies and corporate law, which examines arguably the largest source of private power in the modern world. This workshop will give participants an opportunity to share their work and methodologies with other emerging scholars, to get feedback from senior socio-legal scholars, and to discuss the potential for future research collaborations among early-career researchers based in Australia and New Zealand.

It is intended that this workshop will result in a collective of Corporate Law and Society Scholars (CLASS) aiming to advance interdisciplinary research and scholarship that examines corporate law through the lens of law and society methodologies in Australia and beyond. The goal is to foster critical dialogue and collaboration among scholars to explore the dynamic interactions between corporate governance, legal frameworks, and societal impact. We believe that this collective will create a distinct sub-filed of corporate law research in Australasia that goes beyond doctrinal methods.  Ultimately, we hope to create a vibrant intellectual community committed to addressing the pressing challenges at the intersection of corporate law, social justice, and governance.