Delaware wasn’t always the go-to state for corporate law. And if it escalates its flirtation with environmental, social and governance investment principles, the First State might end up losing its privileged status, just like its neighbor once did.

New Jersey became “the mother of trusts” in the late 19th century by pioneering incorporation laws that gave companies unprecedented freedom. But the Garden State lost that title in 1913 when Gov. Woodrow Wilson set out to correct perceived abuses by making executives liable for corporate “irresponsibility.” Companies responded by fleeing the state.