An overview of agency doctrine

Written as a chapter for a forthcoming volume on agency and intermediation, this paper concisely summarizes the doctrines that comprise the common law of agency in the US and other jurisdictions within the common law tradition. Agency doctrine defines and structures consensual relationships in which one person's actions have power to affect the legal position of another person. Agency doctrine also specifies the distinct legal consequences stemming from agency relationships. Agency's consequences are internal as between agent and principal as well as external, as between the principal and agent and third parties with whom the agent interacts on the principal's behalf. The legal definition of an agency relationship does significant work because it defines the trigger for agency law's consequences. The paper also highlights significant cases that illustrate the current salience of agency doctrine in a wide range of settings.