The Power Has Shifted & So Has the Blame: GM’s Ignition Switch Scandal

On November 4, 2014, Stanford’s Center on the Legal Profession and the Arthur and Toni Rembe Rock Center for Corporate Justice co-hosted the event “The Power Has Shifted … And So Has the Blame: What Does the GM Ignition Switch Scandal Tell Us About the Changing Role of In-House Lawyers.”

The event brought together a panel which included Stanford Law School Visiting Professor Doug Melamed, UCLA Professor Sung Hui and Stanford GSB Professor Benoit Monin for a discussion on GM’s ignition switch case and the themes of the gatekeeper role, the increasing prominence of the general counsel, the social and psychological pressures that come to bear on lawyers in-house, and seek to offer some possible approaches to prevent failures like the one at GM. The panel was moderated by Stanford Law School Professor Bob Gordon.