Today’s General Counsel: DAOs Can Revolutionize Corporate Governance

Former O’Melveny partner Heather Meeker authored this article outlining a new form of organization that entrepreneurs are experimenting with called a DAO. A DAO, or decentralized autonomous organization, is a “blockchain-based structure that draws upon the transparency of blockchain technology and the community participation of open source software development.” DAOs are collectively owned entities governed by “smart contracts,” which are computer programs that automatically act when certain conditions are met. “While traditional corporations are run via bylaws, voting agreements and board meetings, DAOs operate largely without human decision making,” Meeker wrote. “The policies and finances of a DAO can be verified via publicly visible transactional activity on a blockchain. DAOs replace the legal power of corporate bylaws with a zero-trust system that ensures transparency and makes it hard to break the rules.”

Read the full article here.