Hunton & Williams LLP is pleased to announce the publication of Goolsby & Haas on Virginia Corporations, Sixth Edition. Published by LexisNexis, the book by special counsel Allen C. Goolsby and partner Steven M. Haas is the definitive guide to Virginia corporate law.

Goolsby & Haas on Virginia Corporations addresses the role, responsibilities and risk associated with serving as a corporate director or officer and the relationship between boards and shareholders. The latest edition includes in-depth updates on legislative and judicial developments over the last three years as well as a discussion of the constantly changing balance of power among officers, directors and shareholders, as well as regulatory authorities.

“The legislative changes since our last edition in 2014 have been modest, with the principal change reflecting greater flexibility in effecting mergers," Goolsby says. "In contrast, there have been a number of significant Virginia and Delaware court decisions of relevance to Virginia corporations.”

The updated Goolsby & Haas on Virginia Corporations extensively discusses:

  • Developments in the relationship between boards of directors and shareholders, especially for publicly held corporations
  • Tensions between those who focus on short-term results and those who emphasize the long term
  • Increasing advocacy for corporations and their boards to focus less on financial metrics and more on long-term sustainability, including emphasis on diversity, environmental and climate-related concerns

As principal drafter of Virginia’s current corporate code, Goolsby oversaw the General Assembly’s overhaul of the Virginia Stock Corporation Act in the mid-1980s and led the development of all statutory updates in the following decades. He authored his original treatise – Goolsby on Virginia Corporations – in 2002. The Sixth Edition is the second version to be co-authored by Haas, a leading practitioner in the areas of corporate governance and mergers and acquisitions.

Goolsby is a member of the American Bar Association’s Board of Governors and has served as an advisor to and a member of a number of corporate boards. Haas is co-head of Hunton’s mergers and acquisitions team and is widely recognized for his corporate governance and M&A practices. He serves on the ABA committee responsible for authorship of the Model Business Corporation Act. He also is exceptionally well versed in corporate law in Delaware, where a sizable number of major U.S. companies are domiciled. Both are fellows of the American College of Governance Counsel.