The Partner-Manager: Some Thoughts on Bebchuk and Fried

Lawrence E. Mitchell, Case Western University School of Law

Abstract

This brief essay comments on Lucian Bebchuk & Jesse Fried, Paying for Long-Term Performance, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Vol. 158, p. 1915, 21. In brief, I argue that while their analysis and reform suggestions with respect to executive compensation are well-done and largely persuasive, there is a larger structural issue underlying their work which itself needs to be addressed. Top corporate executives over the past several decades have shifted their positions from employees of their firms to partners with their shareholders. The argument is briefly made, and issues for further research are raised.