Academic Faculty
Full Time Teaching Faculty
Adriana Z. Robertson
Donald N. Pritzker Professor of Business LawBiography
Adriana Robertson is the Donald N. Pritzker Professor of Business Law at the University of Chicago Law School. Her research interests lie at the intersection of law and finance, including securities law, capital markets regulation, corporate finance, and business law.
Before joining the University of Chicago Law School, Adriana held the Honourable Justice Frank Iacobucci Chair in Capital Markets Regulation at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, with a joint appointment in the Finance area at the Rotman School of Management. In the autumn quarter of 2019, she was the Daniel R. Fischel and Sylvia M. Neil Distinguished Visiting Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Chicago Law School. She has also held visiting professorships at NYU Law School and Yale Law School.
Adriana holds a BA from the University of Toronto (Trinity College), where she was awarded the Lorne T. Morgan Gold Medal in Economics, a PhD in Finance from the Yale School of Management, and a JD from Yale Law School. Her recent work has been featured in major media outlets including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Financial Times.
Education
Yale University
- PhD, Finance, Yale School of Management, 2017
- JD, Yale Law School, 2015
University of Toronto
- Hon. BA, Economics, Trinity College, 2011
Experience
University of Chicago
- Donald N. Pritzker Professor of Business Law, 2022 - present
- Daniel R. Fischel and Sylvia M. Neil Distinguished Visiting Assistant Professor of Law, Autumn 2019
University of Toronto
- Associate Professor & Honourable Justice Frank Iacobucci Chair in Capital Markets Regulation, 2020 - 2022
- Assistant Professor of Law, 2017 - 2020
Yale Law School
Visiting Professor, Spring 2022
NYU School of Law
Visiting Professor, Fall 2021
Universidad Torcuato Di Tella
Academic Visit, August 2019
Publications
Journal Articles
- "What’s in a Name? ESG Mutual Funds and the SEC’s Names Rule," 96 Southern California Law Review 1417 (2024) (with Jill E. Fisch). www
- "Discretionary Investing by ‘Passive’ S&P 500 Funds," 41 Yale Journal on Regulation 248 (2024) (with Peter Molk). www
- "Giant Asset Managers, the Big Three, and Index Investing," __ __ (2023) (forthcoming) (with Dorothy Lund).
- "The (Mis)uses of the S&P 500," 2 The University of Chicago Business Law Review 137 (2023). www
- "Do ESG Mutual Funds Deliver On Their Promises," 53 Environmental Law Reporter 10630 (2023) (with Quinn Curtis & Jill E. Fisch ).
- "Millionaires Speak: What Drives Their Personal Investment Decisions?," 146 Journal of Financial Economics 305 (2022) (with Svetlana Bender & James J. Choi & Danielle Dyson ). www
- "Hidden Agendas in Shareholder Voting," 39 Yale Journal on Regulation 1218 (2022) (with Scott Hirst). www
- "Do ESG Mutual Funds Deliver On Their Promises," 120 Michigan Law Review 393 (2021) (with Quinn Curtis & Jill E. Fisch). www
- "Advisors by Another Name," 11 Harvard Business Law Review 311 (2021) (with Paul G. Mahoney).
- "What Matters to Individual Investors? Evidence from the Horse's Mouth," 75 Journal of Finance 1965 (2020) (with James J. Choi).
- "Shadow Banking, Shadow Bailouts," 43 Delaware Journal of Corporate Law 459 (2019).
- "Passive in Name Only: Delegated Management and "Index" Investing," 36 Yale Journal on Regulation 795 (2019).
- "You Get What You Pay For: An Empirical Examination of the Use of MTurk in Legal Scholarship," 72 Vanderbilt Law Review 1633 (2019) (with Albert H. Yoon).
- "Privacy Harms," 69 Hastings Law Journal 1039 (2018) (with Ignacio N. Cofone).
- "Blowing Hot Air: Regulatory Credibility and the Living Will Requirement," 14 N.Y.U. Journal of Law and Business 447 (2018).
- "Consumer Privacy in a Behavioral World," 69 Hastings Law Journal 1471 (2018) (with Ignacio N. Cofone).
Book Sections
- "Shareholder Proposals and the Debate over Sustainability Disclosure," in Board-Shareholder Dialogue: Policy Debate, Legal Constraints and Best Practices, Luca Enriques & Giovanni Strampelli eds. (Cambridge University Press, forthcoming) (with Jill E. Fisch). ssrn
Working Papers
- "Noisy Factors," (2022) (with Pat Akey & Mikhail Simutin).
Other Publications
- "For Regulators, It’s All About Timing," Oxford Business Law Blog, November 17, 2023. www
- "For Regulators, It’s All About Timing," The CLS Blue Sky Blog, November 13, 2023. www
- "When Bill Rolls Off: Continuity and Change on Corporate Boards," Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, November 2023 (with Peter Cziraki). www
- "Discretionary Investing by ‘Passive’ S&P 500 Funds," Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, September 18, 2023 (with Peter Molk).
- "Aggregating Values: Mutual Funds and the Problem of ESG," University of Chicago Law Review Online, March 29, 2023 (with Sarath Sanga). www
- "Hidden Agendas in Shareholder Voting," Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, July 6, 2022 (with Scott Hirst). www
- "Blockchain Governance: An Outsider's Perspective," Harvard Journal of Law and Technology, June 12, 2018. www
Presentations
- 2024 (includes scheduled): American Economics Association*, American Law and Economics Association Annual Conference, Athens Corporate Law Workshop, European Finance Association Annual Meeting, ILE Spring Roundtable (Penn Law) (discussion), NYU-LawFin/ SAFE-ESCP BS Law & Banking/Finance Conference, Oxford University, Queen’s University Faculty of Law, Tulane Corporate and Securities Roundtable, University of British Columbia, University of Chicago Economic Outlook Dinner (Brussels), University of Mississippi, University of Southern California Gould School of Law, Yale Law School
- 2023: American Law and Economics Association Annual Conference (×2), Conference on Empirical Legal Studies (CELS) (discussion), Duke Law School, Environmental Law and Policy Annual Review Conference, ETH Zurich, Federalist Society Faculty Conference, Goethe University, Global Corporate Governance Colloquium (GCGC) (discussion), ILE Spring Roundtable (Penn Law)*, Law and Finance of Private Equity and Venture Capital Annual Conference (discussion), Midwest Finance Association*, NYU-LawFin/SAFE-ESCP BS Law & Banking/Finance Conference (discussion), Northern Finance Association*, Penn/NYU Law & Finance Conference, SEC Investment Management Conference, Texas A&M University School of Law, UK FCA Competition Economics & Analysis Group, University of Southern California, University of Texas at Austin School of Law, University of Zurich, Utah Deals Conference, Washington University School of Law, Western Finance Association*, Women in Law & Finance Conference (Wharton), Yale Law School Weil Gotshal & Manges Roundtable (discussion)
- 2022: American Law and Economics Association Annual Conference, Berkeley Law School, Conference on Empirical Legal Studies (CELS) (×2), Corporate & Securities Litigation Workshop, Financial Intermediation Research Society (FIRS) Conference (×2), Four Corners Center Spring Meeting (discussion), George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School, Georgetown University Law Center, Harvard Law School (×2), ILE Spring Roundtable (Penn Law) discussion), 12th Law & Banking/Finance Conference, SFS Cavalcade North America, Society for Labor Economists (SOLE)*, Stanford Law School, UBC Summer Finance Conference*, University of Chicago Law School, University of Colorado Boulder Leeds School of Business, University of Toronto Faculty of Law, Utah Deals Conference, Women in Law & Finance Conference (Wharton), Women in Law & Finance Workshop (Goethe University), Yale Law School Weil Gotshal & Manges Roundtable, Yale Law School
- 2021: American Law and Economics Association Annual Conference, Antonin Scalia Law School: Ribstein Law and Economics Workshop, Boca Corporate Finance and Governance Conference*, CLAWS Workshop (×2), Columbia Law School, Duke University School of Law: Law, Identity and Politics Workshop, Florida-Michigan-Virginia Virtual Law and Economics Workshop*, Financial Research Association (FRA) Conference*, Oxford University, New York University School of Law, Queen’s University Faculty of Law, University of Pennsylvania
- 2020: Bank of Italy/CEPR/EIEF Conference on Ownership, Governance, Management & Firm Performance*, CLAWSWorkshop, Federalist Society Faculty Conference, Florida-Michigan-Virginia Virtual Law and Economics Workshop, Goethe University (Frankfurt)†, Imperial College London†, Stanford Law School†, Tilburg University*, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, University of Southern California Gould School of Law, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Investor Advisory Committee, Vanderbilt University Law School
- 2019: Bernstein Quantitative Conference, Canadian Economics Association Annual Meeting, Chicago Financial Institutions Conference (discussion), CLSA Investors’ Forum (Hong Kong), Hastings College of the Law, New York University School of Law, Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, STILE Law and Economics Workshop, Universidad Torcuato Di Tella (Buenos Aires), University of Chicago Law School, World Investment Forum, the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, Yale Law School
- 2018: American Finance Association Annual Meeting, American Law and Economics Association Annual Meeting*, Berkeley Law School, Bonn University Department of Economics, Canadian Law and Economics Association Annual Meeting, CEPR European Workshop on Household Finance, Columbia Law School, Conference on Empirical Legal Studies (CELS), Dalhousie University Schulich School of Law Business Law Conference, Financial Intermediation Research Society (FIRS) Conference, FSU SunTrust Beach Conference, Helsinki Finance Summit, NBER Behavioral Finance Working Group Meeting, Northern Finance Association (discussion), STILE Law and Economics Workshop, University of Michigan Law School, University of Toronto Corporate and Commercial Law Workshop, University of Southern California*,Western Finance Association Annual Conference*, Yale Law School Weil Gotshal & Manges Roundtable (discussion)
- 2017: Canadian Economics Association Annual Meeting, Canadian Law and Economics Association Annual Meeting, Conference on Empirical Legal Studies (CELS), Cornell University*, NYU Stern School of Business*, Privacy Law Scholars Conference - Europe*, Rice University*, SFS Cavalcade Asia-Pacific*, STILE Law and Economics Workshop, University of Toronto Faculty of Law, University of Virginia School of Law, University of Miami*, Yale School of Management
- 2016: Canadian Law and Economics Association Annual Meeting, New York Law School Internet LawWorks-in-Progress Symposium, Yale Law School Doctoral Conference, Yale School of Management, Yale Law School Information Society Project*
(* indicates presentation by co-author; † indicates presentation postponed because of COVID-19)
Memberships and Professional Affiliations
- Research Member, European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI) (2022-present)
- Chair, Law & Economics Section, American Association of Law Schools (AALS) (2024-2025)
- Director, American Law & Economics Association (2021-2024)
Editorial Work
- Editor, Journal of Legal Studies (2023-present)
- Director, Canadian Business Law Journal (2020-present)
- Director, Four Corners Center for Research on Index Investments (2023-present)
Service
- Member, University of Chicago Council of the University Senate (2024-2027)
- Member, University of Chicago Women’s Leadership Council (2024-2027)