People accept a directorship as an honour or a favour. Few realise it comes with personal duties, and in some cases personal liability.
Every director owes the corporation a fiduciary duty, to act honestly and in good faith in the best interests of the company, and a duty of care, to exercise the care, diligence and skill of a reasonably prudent person. These are not formalities. They are the standard a court will hold you to.
Directors can be personally liable in defined situations, including certain unpaid employee wages and vacation pay, and unremitted source deductions and taxes. A director who simply trusts that someone else is handling it can still be on the hook.
Good governance, proper records, indemnification and directors' insurance all have a role. So does knowing when a decision needs legal input. A directorship accepted without understanding the duties is a risk taken blind.
Immigration, family, corporate or cross-border. We will tell you honestly what can be done, and what cannot.
Book a Consultation人们常把董事职位当作一种荣誉或人情接受下来。很少有人意识到，它伴随着个人职责，某些情况下还有个人责任。
每位董事对公司都负有“信义义务(fiduciary duty)”，即诚实、善意地为公司最佳利益行事；以及“谨慎义务(duty of care)”，即以一个合理审慎之人应有的谨慎、勤勉与技能行事。这些不是形式，而是法院将据以要求你的标准。
在特定情形下董事可能承担个人责任，包括某些未付的员工工资与假期工资，以及未上缴的代扣款与税款。一个只是“相信别人会处理”的董事，仍可能被追责。
良好的治理、规范的记录、赔偿约定(indemnification)与董事责任保险都各有作用；知道哪些决定需要法律意见同样重要。不了解职责就接下的董事职位，是一场盲目承担的风险。