John Armour
Professor of Law and Finance
Faculty officer role(s):
Dean of the Faculty; Chair of the Law Board
Biography
John Armour is Professor of Law and Finance at Oxford University and a Fellow of the British Academy and the European Corporate Governance Institute. He was previously a member of the Faculty of Law and the interdisciplinary Centre for Business Research at the University of Cambridge. He studied law (MA, BCL) at the University of Oxford and then at Yale Law School (LLM). He has held visiting posts at various institutions including the University of Auckland, the University of Chicago, Columbia Law School, the University of Frankfurt, the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Private Law in Hamburg, the University of Pennsylvania Law School and the University of Sydney. He is a member of the American Law Institute and an Academic Member of the Chancery Bar Association. Armour has published widely in the fields of company law, financial regulation, and corporate insolvency. His main research interest lies in the integration of legal and economic analysis, with particular emphasis on the impact on the real economy of changes in company law, corporate insolvency law and financial regulation. He serves as an Executive Editor of the Journal of Corporate Law Studies and the Journal of Law, Finance and Accounting, and has been involved in policy-related projects commissioned by the UK’s Department of Trade and Industry (now BEIS), Financial Services Authority (now FCA) and Insolvency Service, the Commonwealth Secretariat, and the World Bank. He served as a member of the European Commission’s Informal Company Law Expert Group from 2014-19. John will be on sabbatical during Michaelmas and Hilary Term 2022/23.
Publications
Armour J, Enriques L and Wetzer T, ‘Mandatory Corporate Climate Disclosures: Now, But How?’ [2022] Columbia Business Law Review
Armour J, Parnham R and Sako M, ‘AUGMENTED LAWYERING’ [2022] (1) UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LAW REVIEW 71
Armour J and Sako M, ‘Lawtech: Levelling the Playing Field in Legal Services?’
Armour J, Parnham R and Sako M, ‘Unlocking the Potential of AI for English Law’ (2020) 28(1) International Journal of the Legal Profession 65
Armour J and Sako M, ‘AI-Enabled Business Models in Legal Services: From Traditional Law Firms to Next-Generation Law Companies?’ [2020] Journal of Professions and Organization
Armour J, Garrett B, Gordon J, and others, ‘Board Compliance’ (2020) 104 Minnesota Law Review 101
Armour J, ‘Shareholder Rights’ (2020) 36(2) OXFORD REVIEW OF ECONOMIC POLICY 314
Armour J, ‘Legal Origin and Securities Fraud - A Comment’ [2019] Lloyds Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly 631
Armour J and Eidenmueller H, ‘Self-Driving Corporations?’ [2019] Harvard Business Law Review
Armour J, Mayer C and Polo A, ‘Naming and Shaming: Evidence from Event Studies’ [2019] Cambridge Handbook of Compliance
Armour J, ‘Derivative Actions: A Framework for Decisions’ (2019) 135 Law Quarterly Review 412
ARMOUR J and Eidenmueller H, ‘Selbstfahrende Kapitalgesellschaften’ [2019] Zeitschrift für das gesamte Handels-und Wirtschaftsrecht
ARMOUR J and Dicker R, ‘Artificial Intelligence in English Law: A Research Agenda’ [2019] South Square Digest
Armour J and Dicker R, ‘Artifical Intelligence in English Law: A Research Agenda’ [2019] South Square Digest 44871
Armour J, ‘The Case for ’Forward Compliance’’ [2018] (34) British Academy Review 19
Armour J, Gordon J and Min G, ‘Taking Compliance Seriously’ [2018] Yale Journal on Regulation
Armour J and Enriques L, ‘The Promise and Perils of Crowdfunding: Between Corporate Finance and Consumer Contracts’ [2018] The Modern Law Review
Mayer C, Armour J and Polo A, ‘Regulatory Sanctions and Reputational Damage in Financial Markets’ (2017) 52(4) Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis 1429
Armour J, Fleischer H, Knapp V, and others, ‘Brexit and Corporate Citizenship’ [2017] European Business Organization Law Review
Armour J, ‘Brexit and Financial Services’ [2017] Oxford Review of Economic Policy
Armour J and Cheffins B, ‘Stock Market Prices and the Market for Corporate Control’ (2016) 2016(3) University of Illinois Law Review 761
Armour J and Cheffins B, ‘The Origins of the Market for Corporate Control’ (2014) 2014(5) University of Illinois Law Review 1835
Armour J and Gordon J, ‘Systemic Harms and Shareholder Value’ (2014) 6 Journal of Legal Analysis 37
Armour J and Cheffins B, ‘The Rise and Fall (?) of Shareholder Activism by Hedge Funds’ (2012) 14(3) Journal of Alternative Investments 17
Armour J, Black B and Cheffins B, ‘Is Delaware Losing Its Cases?’ (2012) 9(4) JOURNAL OF EMPIRICAL LEGAL STUDIES 605
Armour J, Black B and Cheffins B, ‘Delaware’s Balancing Act’ (2012) 87(4) Indiana Law Journal 1345
Cheffins B, Armour J and Black B, ‘Delaware Corporate Litigation and the Fragmentation of the Plaintiffs’ Bar’
Armour J, Hsu A-H and Walters A, ‘The Costs and Benefits of Secured Creditor Control in Bankruptcy: Evidence from the UK’ (2012) 8(1) Review of Law and Economics 101
Armour J, Jacobs J and Milhaupt C, ‘The Evolution of Hostile Takeover Regimes in Developed and Emerging Markets: An Analytical Framework’ (2011) 52(1) Harvard International Law Journal 219
Armour J and Ringe W, ‘European Company Law 1999-2010: Renaissance and Crisis’ (2011) 48(1) Common Market Law Review 125
Armour J, Jacobs J and Milhaupt C, ‘A Comparative Analysis of Hostile Takeover Regimes in the US, UK and Japan (with Implications for Emerging Markets)’ [2010] (377) Columbia Law and Economics Working Paper
Armour J, Deakin S, Mollica V, and others, ‘Law and Financial Development: What We Are Learning from Time-Series Evidence’ [2010] (148) ECGI - Law Working Paper
Armour J, Black B, Cheffins B, and others, ‘Private Enforcement of Corporate Law: An Empirical Comparison of the United Kingdom and the United States’ (2009) 6(4) Journal of Empirical Legal Studies 687
Armour J and Lele P, ‘Law, Finance, and Politics: The Case of India’ (2009) 43(3) Law & Society Review 491
Armour J, Deakin S, Lele P, and others, ‘How Do Legal Rules Evolve? Evidence from a Crosscountry Comparison of Shareholder, Creditor, and Worker Protection’ (2009) 57(3) American Journal of Comparative Law 579
Armour J, Deakin S, Sarkar P, and others, ‘Shareholder Protection and Stock Market Development: An Empirical Test of the Legal Origins Hypothesis’ (2009) 6(2) Journal of Empirical Legal Studies 343
Cheffins B and Armour J, ‘The Eclipse of Private Equity’ (2008) 33(1) Delaware Journal of Corporate Law
Armour J and Cumming D, ‘Bankruptcy Law and Entrepreneurship’ (2008) 10(2) American Law and Economics Review 303
Armour J, Hsu A and Walters A, ‘Corporate Insolvency in the United Kingdom: The Impact of the Enterprise Act 2002’ (2008) 5(2) European Company and Financial Law Review
Armour J and Jr S, ‘Who, Writes the Rules for Hostile Takeovers, and Why? The Peculiar Divergence of US and UK Takeover Regulation’ (2007) 95(6) Georgetown Law Journal 1727
Armour J and Whincop M, ‘The Proprietary Foundations of Corporate Law’ (2007) 27(3) Oxford Journal of Legal Studies 429
Armour J and Skeel D, ‘The Divergence of U.S. And UK Takeover Regulation’ (2007) 30(3) Regulation
Armour J, ‘The Legislative Road to Silicon Valley’ (2006) 58(4) Oxford Economic Papers 596
Armour J, ‘Legal Capital: An Outdated Concept?’
Armour J, ‘European Cross-Border Insolvencies: The Race Goes to the Swiftest?’ (2006) 65(3) Cambridge Law Journal 505
Armour J and Walters A, ‘The Proceeds of Office-Holder Actions under the Insolvency Act: Charged Assets or Free Estate?’ [2006] Lloyds’ Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly 27
Armour J, ‘European Corporate Insolvencies: The Race Goes to the Swiftest?’ (2006) 65 Cambridge Law Journal 504
Armour J and J. Walters A, ‘Funding Liquidation: A Functional View’ (2006) 122 Law Quaterly Review 303
Armour J, ‘Who Should Make Corporate Law? EC Legislation Versus Regulatory Competition’ (2005) 58(1) Current Legal Problems 369
Armour J and Conaglen M, ‘Directorial Disclosure’ (2005) 64(1) Cambridge Law Journal 48
Armour J, ‘La Reforma De Los Procedimientos De Recuperación De Empresas En Crisis En El Reino’ (2005) 3 Revista de Derecho Concursal y Paraconcursal 403
Mokal R and Armour J, ‘The New UK Corporate Rescue Procedure - The Administrator’s Duty to Act Rationally’
Armour J, ‘Personal Insolvency Law and the Demand for Venture Capital’ [2004] (1) European Business Organization Law Review (EBOR) 87
Armour J and Mokal R, ‘Reforming the Governance of Corporate Rescue: The Enterprise Act 2002’
Armour J, ‘Floating Charges: All Adrift?’ (2004) 63(3) Cambridge Law Journal 560
Armour J, ‘Corporate Opportunities: If in Doubt, Disclose (but how?)’ (2004) 63(1) Cambridge Law Journal 33
Armour J, ‘The Chequered History of the Floating Charge’ (2004) 13(1) Griffith Law Review 25
Deakin S and Armour J, ‘The Saving of Rover: An Alternative to the Power of Stockholders?’ (2004) 152-153(2) Homme et la Societe 79
Armour J, Deakin S and Konzelmann S, ‘Shareholder Primacy and the Trajectory of UK Corporate Governance’ (2003) 41 British Journal of Industrial Relations 531
Campbell N and Armour J, ‘Demystifying the Civil Liability of Corporate Agents’ (2003) 62(2) Cambridge Law Journal 290
Armour J, ‘The Uncertain Flight of British Eagle’ (2003) 62(1) Cambridge Law Journal 39
Armour J and R. Campbell N, ‘Demystifying Corporate Civil Liability’ (2003) 62 Cambridge Law Journal 290
Armour J, ‘Financial Assistance: A Restatement’ (2003) 62 Cambridge Law Journal 266
Armour J and McCahery J, ‘Improving Corporate Law and the Modernization of Securities Regulation in Europe’ (2003) 24 Journal of Corporate Law Studies 211
Armour J, ‘Law and Social Norms’ (2003) 30(4) JOURNAL OF LAW AND SOCIETY 609
Armour J, Cheffins B and Skeel D, ‘Corporate Ownership Structure and the Evolution of Bankruptcy Law: Lessons from the United Kingdom’ (2002) 55(6) VANDERBILT LAW REVIEW 1699
Armour J and Deakin S, ‘Norms in Private Bankruptcy: The ’London Approach’ to the Resolution of Financial Distress’ (2001) 1 Journal of Corporate Law Studies 21
Armour J and Frisby S, ‘Rethinking Receivership’ (2001) 21(1) Oxford Journal of Legal Studies 73
Armour J and J. Whincop M, ‘An Economic Analysis of Shared Property in Partnership and Close Corporations Law’ (2001) 26 Journal of Corporation Law 101
Armour J, ‘Share Capital and Creditor Protection: Efficient Rules for a Modern Company Law’ (2000) 63(3) Modern Law Review
Armour J and Deakin S, ‘The Rover Case (2): Bargaining in the Shadow of TUPE’ (2000) 29 Industrial Law Journal 395
Armour J, ‘Who Pays When Polluters Go Bust?’ (2000) 116 Law Quarterly Review 200
Armour J and Deaking S, ‘Recent Case. Commentary: The Rover Case (2) - Bargaining in the Shadow of TUPE’ (2000) 29(4) Industrial Law Journal 395
Armour J, ‘Corporate Personality and Assumption of Responsibility’ [1999] Lloyds’ Maritime & Commercial Law Quarterly 246
Armour J, ‘Directors’ Self-Dealing: The Plot Thickens’ (1997) 113 Law Quarterly Review 540
Armour J, Enriques L and Wetzer T, ‘Green Pills’ Arizona law review
Armour J and Schmidt C, ‘Building Enforcement Capacity for Brazilian Corporate and Securities Law’ in R Huang and N Howson (eds.), Public and Private Enforcement: China and the World (Cambridge University Press 2019)
Armour J, ‘Bank Governance’ in J Gordon and W Ringe (eds.), Oxford Handbook of Corporate Law and Governance (Oxford University Press 2018)
Armour J and Enriques L, ‘Individual Investors’ Access to Crowdinvesting: Two Regulatory Models’ in D Cumming and L Hornuf (eds.), The Economics of Crowdfunding: Startups, Portals and Investor Behavior (Palgrave Macmillan 2018)
Armour J, Hansmann H, Kraakman R, and others, ‘What Is Corporate Law?’, Anatomy of Corporate Law: A Comparative and Functional Approach (Oxford University Press 2017)
Armour J, Black B, Cheffins B, and others, ‘Private Enforcement of Corporate Law: An Empirical Comparison of the UK and US’, Enforcement of Corporate and Securities Law: China and the World (2017)
Armour J, ‘Making Bank Resolution Credible’ in T Oxford Handbook of Financial Regulation (ed.), E Ferran, N Moloney and J Payne (Oxford University Press 2015)
Armour J, Menezes A, Uttamchandani M, and others, ‘How Creditor Rights Matter for Debt Finance: A Review of Empirical Evidence’ in F Dahan (ed.), Research Handbook on Secured Financing in Commercial Transactions (Edward Elgar 2015)
Armour J, Menezes A, Uttamchandani M, and others, ‘How Do Creditor Rights Matter for Debt Finance? A Review of Empirical Evidence’ in F Dahan (ed.), Research Handbook on Secured Financing in Commercial Transactions (Edward Elgar 2015)
Armour J, ‘Companies and Other Associations’ in A Burrows (ed.), English Private Law (Oxford University Press 2013)
Armour J, ‘The Rise of the ‘Pre-Pack’: Corporate Restructuring in the UK and Proposals for Reform’ (2012)
Armour J and Cheffins B, ‘ORIGINS OF "OFFENSIVE" SHAREHOLDER ACTIVISM IN THE UNITED STATES’, ORIGINS OF SHAREHOLDER ADVOCACY (2011)
Armour J, ‘Abuse of European Insolvency Law? A Discussion’ in R De La Feira and S Vogenauer (eds.), Prohibition of Abuse of Law: A New General Principle of EU Law? (Hart Publishing 2011)
Armour J, ‘5. Enforcement Strategies in UK Corporate Governance: A Roadmap and Empirical Assessment’, The Law and Economics of Corporate Governance: Changing Perspectives (2010)
Armour J, ‘Enforcement Strategies in UK Corporate Governance: A Roadmap and Empirical Assessment’ in J Armour and J Payne (eds.), Rationality in Company Law (Hart Publishing 2009)
Armour J, ‘European Insolvency Proceedings and Party Choice: Comment’ in L Gullifer, W-G Ringe and P Thery (eds.), Current Issues in European Financial and Insolvency Law (Hart Publishing 2009)
Armour J, ‘What Has the Financial Crisis Taught Us About Insolvency Law?’ in P Essers, G Raaijmakers, G van der Sangen, and others (eds.), Met Recht: Liber Amicorum for Theo Raaijmakers (2009)
Armour J, ‘Codification and UK Company Law’ in A du Bicentenaire du Code du Commerce (ed.), Bicentenaire du Code de Commerce 1807-2007: Les Actes des Colloques (Dalloz 2008)
Armour J, ‘Companies and Other Associations’ in A Burrows (ed.), English Private Law (2007)
Armour J and McCahery J, ‘After Enron: Improving Corporate Law and Modernising Securities Regulation in Europe and the US’ (2006)
Armour J, ‘Should We Redistribute in Insolvency?’ (2006)
Armour J, ‘The Governace of Corporate Rescue in the UK’ in H Peter, N Jeandin and J Kilborn (eds.), The Challenges of Insolvency Law in the 21st Century (Schulthess, Zurich 2006)
Armour J and A. McCahery J, ‘Introduction’ in J Armour and J A. McCahery (eds.), After Enron: Reforming Corporate Law and Modernising Securities Regulation in Europe and the US (Hart Publishing, Oxford 2006)
Armour J, ‘Overview of the Treatment of Stakeholders in UK Corporate Insolvency Law’ in H Peter, N Jeandin and J Kilborn (eds.), The Challenges of Insolvency Law in the 21st Century (Schulthess, Zurich 2006)
Armour J, ‘Responsabilità Delle Banche Nel Regno Unito Nell Situazioni Di Salvataggio’ in Bonfatti, S., Falcone, and others (eds.), Le Responsabilità della Banca e dell’Impresa nella Gestione delle Situazioni di Crisi (Milan: Giuffre 2005)
Armour J and Skeel D, ‘An Ocean of Difference on Takeover Regulation’ in Grant and J. (eds.), European Takeovers: The Art of Acquisition (London: Euromoney Books 2005)
Armour J, ‘Avoidance of Transactions As a ’Fraud on Creditors’ at Common Law’ in Armour, J and B H. N. (eds.), Vulnerable Transactions in Corporate Insolvency (Oxford:Hart Publishing 2003)
Armour J, ‘Law, Finance and Innovation’ in McCahery, J.A., Renneboog, and others (eds.), Venture Capital Contracting and the Valuation of Hi-Tech Firms (Oxford: OUP 2003)
Armour J, ‘Transactions at an Undervalue’ in Armour, J., Bennett, and others (eds.), Vulnerable Transactions in Corporate Insolvency (Oxford: Hart Publishing 2003)
Armour J, ‘Transactions Defrauding Creditors’ in Armour, J Bennett and H N. (eds.), Vulnerable Transactions in Corporate Insolvency (Oxford: Hart Publishing 2003)
Armour J, ‘The Law and Economics of Corporate Insolvency: A Review’ in R Vriesendorp, J McCahery and F Verstijlen (eds.), Comparative and International Perspectives on Bankruptcy Law Reform in the Netherlands (Boom Juridische uitgevers 2001)
‘Equity Crowdfunding: An Acid Test for Securities Regulation’ (MIT Press 2019)
‘Test Deposit to Test Author Editor Roles (TL, Do Not Edit)’
‘Naming and Shaming: Evidence from Event Studies’ (Cambridge University Press)
‘What Is Corporate Law?’ (Oxford University Press 2017)
ENRIQUES L, ARMOUR J, EZRACHI A, and others, ‘Putting Technology to Good Use for Society: The Role of Corporate, Competition and Tax Law’ (31 October 2018)
Armour J, Eidenmueller H, Eleftheriadis P, and others, ‘2016-2017 Oxford Business Law Blog Round-Up: Most Read Opinion Pieces’ (27 April 2017)
Armour J, Hansmann H, Kraakman R, and others, ‘Foundations of Corporate Law’ (25 January 2017)
Armour J, Enriques L, Hansmann H, and others, ‘The Basic Governance Structure: The Interests of Shareholders As a Class’ (16 January 2017)
Eleftheriadis P, Armour J, Enriques L, and others, ‘Legal Aspects of Withdrawal from the EU: A Briefing Note’ (Oxford University Law Faculty, 14 July 2016)
Cheffins B and Armour J, ‘The Rise and Fall (?) of Shareholder Activism by Hedge Funds’ (6 January 2012)
Cheffins B and Armour J, ‘The Past, Present and Future of Shareholder Activism by Hedge Funds’ (University of Iowa College of Law, 31 August 2011) 51
Cheffins B and Armour J, ‘Offensive Shareholder Activism in U.S. Public Companies, 1900-49’ (11 February 2011)
Armour J, Hansmann H and Kraakman R, ‘Agency Problems, Legal Strategies, and Enforcement’ (20 July 2009)
Cheffins B and Armour J, ‘The Eclipse of Private Equity’ (1 April 2007)
PETROVA A, ARMOUR J and LUKASIEWICZ T, ‘Extracting Outcomes from Appellate Decisions in US State Courts’ (2020)
Armour J and Enriques L, ‘Equity Crowd Funding: An Acid Test for Securities Regulation’, CAPITAL MARKETS UNION AND BEYOND (2019)
Armour J and Whincop M, ‘An Economic Analysis of Shared Property in Partnership and Close Corporations Law’, Governance of Close Corporations and Partnerships: US and European Perspectives (2004)
Armour J and Deakin S, ‘Insolvency and Employment Protection: The Mixed Effects of the Acquired Rights Directive’, INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF LAW AND ECONOMICS (2002)
Armour J, ‘Capital Maintenance’ [2000] ESRC Centre for Business Research 166 (review)
Armour J, Bengtzen M and Enriques L, ‘Investor Choice in Global Securities Markets’ (European Corporate Governance Institute1 July 2017) 1
Armour J, Mayer C and Polo A, ‘Regulatory Sanctions and Reputational Damage in Financial Markets’ (2 October 2015)
Armour J, Bartkus G, Clarke B, and others, ‘Report on the Recognition of the Interest of the Group’ (2016)
Armour J, Bartkus G, Clarke B, and others, ‘Report on Information on Groups’ (2016)
Armour J, Bartkus G, Clarke B, and others, ‘Report on Digitalisation in Company Law’ (2016)
Armour J and Awrey D, ‘Prioritizing the Implementation of International Financial Regulation’ (Commonwealth Secretariat Economic Papers 2015)
Armour J, Bates J, Deakin S, and others, ‘Corporate Governance via the Listing Rules’ (UK Listing Authority 2003)