Graduate Programs

Asaf Raz

Contact Information

asafraz@pennlaw.upenn.edu

Dissertation

Asaf’s research examines corporate law from a new analytical perspective, innovatively bringing together private law theory and economic reasoning. By paying attention to the distinctive structure of corporate law – having its own set of defining properties, including corporate purpose, equitable and fiduciary obligations, and the corporation’s entity status – Asaf seeks to demonstrate how the corporate framework gives rise to a unique array of economic and social benefits. Among other contributions, Asaf’s work explores the significance of corporate law’s non-contractual nature – which subjects the corporation to very few constraints before-the-fact, while placing strong emphasis on ex post adjudication – and applies this in the context of recent proposals to introduce mandatory arbitration into corporate law. Asaf’s scholarship also provides a nuanced alternative to the prevalent dichotomy between “shareholder primacy” and “corporate social responsibility” conceptions, and examines the manner in which equity both defines and protects shareholders’ rights.

Dissertation Committee

Prof. David A. Skeel, S. Samuel Arsht Professor of Corporate Law; Prof. Gideon Parchomovsky, Robert G. Fuller, Jr. Professor of Law; Prof. Elizabeth Pollman, Professor of Law

Bio

Asaf Raz graduated from the Penn Law S.J.D. program in 2021. He joined the program in 2018. Prior to his doctoral studies, Asaf graduated with distinction from the Penn Law LL.M. program, which he entered in 2017. During his LL.M. studies, he served as Associate Editor of the University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law. Before coming to Penn Law, Asaf had a law practice in Tel Aviv, Israel, where he specialized in corporate litigation, including derivative and class actions, and other areas of commercial law. He graduated from the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya (IDC) with LL.B. and B.A. degrees. While there, Asaf served on the legal clinic and was a member of the Debate Club, on behalf of which he won the Israel Debate Championship for First-Year Speakers.