Henry N. Butler, Professor, Chapman University; and Larry E. Ribstein, Professor, the University of Illinois College of Law (AEI Press 2006)

Enacted in the wake of the Enron collapse and other corporate scandals stemming from the bursting of the dot-com bubble, the Sarbanes-Oxley act placed new regulatory and litigation burdens on U.S. public companies. Butler and Ribstein argue that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, although a legislative disaster, is not beyond saving. The Sarbanes-Oxley Debacle examines the direct and indirect costs imposed by the recent legislation, and proposes reforms that could mitigate some of its worst effects. Among their proposals: applying Sarbanes-Oxley to larger corporations only; reducing the internal controls disclosure requirement; and prohibiting private lawsuits based on the Act.