Jesse M. Fried

Current Position

Title: William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law Company: Harvard Law School Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts

Professional Background

Jesse M. Fried is a leading legal scholar and expert in corporate law, executive compensation, corporate governance, and venture capital. He holds the William Nelson Cromwell Professorship at Harvard Law School, one of the institution's most prestigious faculty positions. Previously, he held the Dane Professorship from 2014 to 2024. Before joining Harvard in 2009, he was a Professor of Law and Faculty Co-Director of the Berkeley Center for Law, Business and the Economy at the University of California, Berkeley.

Fried is recognized internationally for his scholarly contributions to understanding the mechanisms of executive compensation and the structural failures in corporate governance that allow executives to capture their own compensation processes. His research spans multiple areas of corporate law and business regulation, including executive compensation, insider trading, corporate bankruptcy, and venture capital contracting. In 2023, he was ranked the 19th most-cited legal scholar in all fields by the Social Science Research Network, reflecting the significant impact of his work on academic and policy discourse.

His research methodology combines rigorous empirical analysis with policy-oriented legal scholarship. He is particularly known for his willingness to challenge conventional wisdom in corporate finance and venture capital, offering evidence-based critiques of common practices and regulatory frameworks.

Career Timeline

Education

• B.A. in Economics, Harvard College (1986), Phi Beta Kappa
• M.A. in Economics, Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (1989)
• J.D., magna cum laude, Harvard Law School (1992)

Public Presence

Social Media

Note: Only publicly accessible profiles are documented. Fried maintains an active Twitter presence focused on corporate governance and policy issues.

Published Writings

Books:

• Pay without Performance: The Unfulfilled Promise of Executive Compensation — with Lucian Bebchuk (2004; Harvard University Press) — translated into Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and Italian

Recent Articles & Op-Eds:

• "Colleges Divesting From Israel Face a Ben & Jerry's Meltdown" — Newsweek (May 2024, with David H. Webber)
• "The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable (HFCA) Act: A Critique" — Harvard Business Law Review (2024, with Tamar Groswald Ozery)
• "China and the Rise of Law-Proof Insiders" — SSRN (with Ehud Kamar)
• "Alibaba: A Case Study of Synthetic Control" — SSRN (with Ehud Kamar)
• "Do VCs Use Inside Rounds to Dilute Founders? Some Evidence from Silicon Valley" — Journal of Corporate Finance (2012, with Brian J. Broughman)
• "The Evolution of CEO Compensation in Venture Capital Backed Startups" — Harvard Corporate Governance Forum (2020)
• "Executive Compensation as an Agency Problem" — American Economic Association publications (with Lucian Bebchuk)
• "Will Nasdaq's Diversity Rules Harm Investors?" — SSRN

Additional publications include 20+ scholarly articles on executive compensation, insider trading, corporate governance, and venture capital in leading law reviews and academic journals.

Public Speaking

• "Conversation about Corporate Governance" — Peking University School of Transnational Law (March 2025)
• Congressional Testimony on Stock Buybacks — U.S. House Subcommittee on Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship, and Capital Markets (October 17, 2019)

Communication Style

Tone: Analytical, evidence-based, pragmatic, with occasional pointed criticism of prevailing practices Recurring themes: Executive compensation reform, corporate governance failures, venture capital practices and their impact on founders, regulatory effectiveness, shareholder protections, insider trading mechanisms Notable positions: Critic of current executive compensation structures; skeptical of regulatory interventions without empirical foundation; advocate for founder protections against VC practices; concerned with information asymmetries in capital markets

Fried communicates with a distinctly academic rigor combined with policy relevance. His writing style emphasizes empirical evidence, using detailed case studies and data analysis to support arguments that often challenge industry conventional wisdom. In his Congressional testimony and published articles, he employs a methodical, reasoned approach to complex issues—laying out problems, presenting evidence, and proposing solutions grounded in theoretical and empirical analysis. His recent op-ed on college divestment from Israel demonstrates his willingness to engage in contentious public debates with legal sophistication, framing the argument around fiduciary duties and unintended economic consequences rather than pure ideological positioning. He uses accessible language despite dealing with technically complex subjects, making his work valuable to both academic and practitioner audiences. His communication frequently emphasizes the gap between theory and practice in corporate governance, using specific examples to illustrate systemic problems.

Notable Achievements

• Ranked 19th most-cited legal scholar in all fields (SSRN, 2023)
• Co-authored seminal work Pay without Performance, which has been translated into four languages and received widespread acclaim from mutual funds, Nobel laureates, and major media outlets
• Served as consultant and expert witness in high-profile litigation involving executive compensation and corporate governance
• Delivered insights on international corporate governance at leading global institutions (Peking University, etc.)
• Member, Research Advisory Council, Glass Lewis & Co. (leading proxy advisory firm)
• Research spanning multiple high-impact domains: executive compensation, venture capital practices, insider trading, bankruptcy, Chinese corporate governance structures

Key Relationships

• Lucian Bebchuk — Long-term research collaborator and co-author of Pay without Performance
• Ehud Kamar — Co-author on research examining Chinese corporate structures and insider control mechanisms
• Brian J. Broughman — Co-author on venture capital research examining founder dilution practices
• David H. Webber — Co-author on college divestment policy analysis; collaborator on Jewish civil rights issues
• Tamar Groswald Ozery — Co-author on foreign companies regulatory compliance research
• The Deborah Project — Co-founder and Board Chair; public interest law organization combating antisemitism in education
• Glass Lewis & Co. — Research Advisory Council member (influential proxy voting advisory firm)
• Harvard Law School — Faculty position with teaching responsibilities in corporations, M&A litigation, and corporate governance seminars

Professional Affiliations

• William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law, Harvard Law School
• Co-founder and Board Chair, The Deborah Project (public interest law organization)
• Research Advisory Council, Glass Lewis & Co.
• Member, European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)
• Member, Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy
• Contributor, The Conference Board

Additional Information

Research Interests: Executive compensation, corporate governance, corporate bankruptcy, venture capital contracting, insider trading, Chinese corporate structures, regulatory effectiveness in capital markets

Areas of Expertise Sought: Corporate governance reform, executive compensation policy, venture capital best practices, startup founder protections, international corporate regulation

Public Information Availability: HIGH — Extensive scholarly publication record, active social media presence, Congressional testimony, published op-eds in major media outlets