Staff profile

Christopher Riley graduated from Hull University in 1982 . He qualified as a solicitor in 1985 and worked for two years in private practice before returning to Hull as a lecturer. He moved to Newcastle Law School in 1997, and joined Durham Law Department as a reader in 2002. He has taught a variety of subjects in the broad area of commercial law, including company law, contract law, law and economics, tax law and corporate governance. He has been a visiting teacher at Hong Kong University, Singapore Institute of Management and the Catholic University of Portugal. His main research interests are in company law and corporate governance. He has recently completed a survey, funded by the British Academy, on the governance of chartered corporations, and has contributed towards an annotated guide to the Companies Act 2006. His most recent research is on the governance of not-for-profit companies. His work has examined the suitability of the legal forms available for not-for-profit organisations, including the new ‘Community Interest Company’, as well as some of the competing theories about the role played by such organisations. The research will culminate in a monograph which he is co-authoring.

Teaching Areas

Company law Corporate Governance

• Theories of company law
• Directors’ duties
• Minority shareholder protection
• Not-for-profit companies
• Corporate governance

Chapter in book

• Riley, C. (2010). An Annotated guide to the Companies Act. In E. Birds (Ed.), Annotated companies legislation. Oxford University Press
• Riley, C. (2003). Implicit Dimensions of Contract and the Oppression of Minority Shareholders. In D. Campbell, H. Collins, & J. Wightman (Eds.), Implicit dimensions of contract : discrete, rational and network contracts (365-395). Hart Publishing
• Riley, C. (2002). The Juridification of Corporate Governance. In J. de Lacy (Ed.), The reform of UK company law (179-201). Routledge-Cavendish

Journal Article

• Riley, C., & Ruelas, P. (2020). Board Gender Diversity in Mexico: An Analysis and Proposal for Reform. Journal of international and comparative law (Hong Kong), 7(1), 155-182
• Riley, C. (2013). Derivative claims and ratification: Time to ditch some baggage. Legal Studies, 34(4), 582-608. https://doi.org/10.1111/lest.12028
• Riley, C. (2010). The Not-so Dynamic Quality of Corporate Law: A UK Perspective on Hansmann's 'Corporation and Contract'. King's Law Journal, 21(3), 469-494. https://doi.org/10.5235/096157610793391553
• Riley, C. (2010). The Case for Non-Governing Directors in Not-for-Profit Companies. Journal of Corporate Law Studies, 10(1), 119-150
• Riley, C. A. (2007). Theorising the governance of not-for-profits. Nottingham law journal, 16, 44-66
• Dunn, A., & Riley, C. (2004). Supporting the Not-for-Profit Sector: The Government's Review of Charitable and Social Enterprise. Modern Law Review, 67(4), 632-657. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2230.2004.00503.x