Company Meetings: Law, Practice and Procedure

This book examines in detail the current UK law on company meetings (including meetings of directors and of shareholders) which has been developed by statute and legal decisions over the last 150 years. It does so by comparing and contrasting the existing law with the new provisions contained in the Company Law Reform Bill.

The Company Law Reform Act constitutes the most radical reform of Company Law since the Companies Act 1985 and contains many new provisions which have a material impact on the conduct of company meetings. In relation to meetings of shareholders the legislation makes an important distinction between the rights and obligations arising in respect of public companies and those of private companies. The legislation also introduces new standard form articles of association containing provisions relating to meetings of directors and shareholders.

This work analyses these statutory provisions and explains how they are to operate in practice. In addition, it explains for practitioners the methods of avoiding many of the common pitfalls that may befall the unwary and suggests practical solutions for some of the problems that can arise when convening or holding a meeting.

The authors are two well-known company law specialists with a combined total of almost 50 years' experience of advising on this very technical area of the law.

Leslie Kosmin is a barrister in practice in the field of Company Law at Erskine Chmbers since 1977. He was called to the Bar in 1976 and was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1994. He is a Deputy High Court Judge and Master of the Bench of the Middle Temple.

Catherine Roberts is a barrister at Erskine Chambers specialising in company law litigation and advice, corporate finance, financial services, and insolvency. She studied law at the University of Cambridge and was called to the Bar in 1986, a year after which she joined Erskine Chambers.