Roberta Romano

Sterling Professor of Law and Director, Yale Law School Center for the Study of Corporate Law

(on leave, spring 2023)


Roberta Romano is Sterling Professor of Law at Yale Law School and Director of the Yale Law School Center for the Study of Corporate Law. Her research has focused on state competition for corporate charters, the political economy of takeover regulation, shareholder litigation, institutional investor activism in corporate governance and the regulation of securities markets and financial instruments and institutions.

FULL BIOGRAPHY
Roberta Romano

Contact Information



Faculty Assistant


Patricia Florio

Education & Curriculum Vitae


J.D., Yale Law School, 1980

M.A., University of Chicago, 1975

B.A., University of Rochester, 1973

Courses Taught


  • Business Organizations
  • Applied Corporate Finance
  • Colloquium on Contemporary Issues in Law and Business
  • Law, Economics, and Organization

Roberta Romano is Sterling Professor of Law at Yale Law School and Director of the Yale Law School Center for the Study of Corporate Law. Her research has focused on state competition for corporate charters, the political economy of takeover regulation, shareholder litigation, institutional investor activism in corporate governance and the regulation of securities markets and financial instruments and institutions. Professor Romano is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the European Corporate Governance Institute, a research associate of the National Bureau for Economic Research, a past President of the American Law and Economics Association and the Society for Empirical Legal Studies, and a past co-editor of the Journal of Law, Economics and Organization. She is a recipient of the American Law and Economic Association’s Ronald H. Coase Medal, which is awarded in recognition of major contributions to the field of law and economics, and William & Mary Law School’s Marshall-Wythe Medallion, which recognizes those who have demonstrated exceptional accomplishment in law. Professor Romano is the author of The Genius of American Corporate Law (1993) and The Advantage of Competitive Federalism for Securities Regulation (2002), editor of Foundations of Corporate Law, 2d ed. (2010) and co-editor with Shen Wei, of Financial Regulation After the Global Financial Crisis: U.S. and China Perspectives (2017) (in Chinese).

Monday, October 25, 2021


Professor Roberta Romano ’80 Receives 2020 Ronald H. Coase Medal

Sterling Professor of Law and Director of the Yale Law School Center for the Study of Corporate Law Roberta Romano ’80 has been awarded the 2020 Ronald H. Coase Medal by the American Law and Economics Association.

Monday, January 7, 2019


A Jewel in the Law School’s Crown

The Yale Law Report looked back at the last 20 years of the Center for the Study of Corporate Law.

Thursday, August 16, 2018


Senator Warren’s Bizarro Corporate Governance

Sterling Professor of Law Roberta Romano ’80 is quoted and Ralph Winter ’60 is cited in an article on Senator Elizabeth Warren’s legislation on corporate governance. The article was written by James Copland ’03.

Thursday, June 21, 2018


How to Regulate During a Financial Crisis

Scholarship by Sterling Professor of Law Roberta Romano ’80 is discussed.

Tuesday, March 27, 2018


Professor Romano ’80 Receives Highest Honor from William & Mary Law School

Roberta Romano ’80, Sterling Professor of Law and Director of the Yale Law School Center for the Study of Corporate Law, received the 2017–2018 Marshall-Wythe Medallion from William & Mary Law School.

Tuesday, February 27, 2018


Professor Hansmann ’74 Receives 2018 Baldwin Award

Henry B. Hansmann '74, Oscar M. Ruebhausen Professor of Law, was the 2018 recipient of the Simeon E. Baldwin Award from the Yale Law School Center for the Study of Corporate Law.

Friday, February 24, 2017


Roundtable to Examine Future of Finance and Capital Markets

Jerome Powell, a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, will deliver the keynote address on March 3, 2017 at the Weil, Gotshal & Manges Roundtable at Yale Law School on “Blockchain: The Future of Finance and Capital Markets?,” organized by the Yale Law School Center for the Study of Corporate Law. Blockchain is a technology that enables the creation of a distributed ledger in which transactions are encrypted and recorded chronologically.

Monday, November 10, 2014


Dodd-Frank’s Regulatory Morass—A Commentary by Roberta Romano ’80

Roberta Romano ’80 is Sterling Professor of Law at Yale Law School and director of the Yale Law School Center for the Study of Corporate Law. 

Friday, May 16, 2014


Accelerated JD-MBA Degree Program Turns Five

The three-year JD-MBA degree, a joint program of the Law School and the Yale School of Management, graduated its fifth class in May 2014.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013


Inaugural Craig Wasserman ’86/ Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz Alumni Breakfast Held Oct. 17

The inaugural Craig Wasserman '86/ Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz corporate law breakfast program for alumni was held on October 17 in New York City. 

Wednesday, June 8, 2011


Roberta Romano ’80 Appointed Sterling Professor of Law; Henry Hansmann ’74 Named Oscar M. Ruebhausen Professor of Law

Roberta Romano ’80 has been named a Sterling Professor of Law at Yale Law School, and Henry Hansmann ’74 has been named the Oscar M. Ruebhausen Professor of Law.

Thursday, October 30, 2008


Judge Ralph Winter ’60 Receives Simeon E. Baldwin Award

Judge Ralph Winter '60 with the 2008 Simeon E. Baldwin Award.