Shareholder Proposal -
Rule On July 13, 2022, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) proposed amendments to revise three of the substantive bases for exclusion of shareholder proposals under Rule 14a-8 of...more
7/18/2022
/ Corporate Governance ,
Proposed Rules ,
Proxy Solicitations ,
Proxy Voting ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rule 14a-8 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ,
Securities Regulation ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders
In a little over a month’s time, the Superior Court of California (the “Superior Court”) struck down both AB 979 and SB 826, California’s two board diversity statutes. SB 826 required that a public company whose principal...more
5/23/2022
/ Board of Directors ,
California ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Corporate Governance ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Equal Protection ,
Labor Reform ,
New Legislation ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
State Constitutions ,
Summary Judgment ,
Woman Board Members
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rulemaking process has received much attention under Chair Gensler’s leadership not only because of the volume and substance of proposed rules, but also because of the...more
5/9/2022
/ Climate Change ,
Comment Period ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Private Funds ,
Proposed Rules ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation ATS ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
On April 28, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Vale S.A. (Vale), a publicly traded Brazilian mining company and one of the world’s largest iron ore producers, with making false and misleading...more
5/4/2022
/ Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
False Statements ,
Intent to Defraud ,
Investment Fraud ,
Mining ,
Misleading Statements ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC” or the “Commission”) proposed changes to the proxy solicitation rules on November 17, 2021. The proposed changes would rescind certain new rules adopted by the SEC in July...more
On November 17, 2021, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted mandatory universal proxy rules that will apply for all contested director elections, which it had previously proposed in 2016. Under the final...more
On November 3, 2021, the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance (Staff) of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission) issued Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14L (SLB 14L), providing information regarding the...more
11/9/2021
/ Corporate Governance ,
New Guidance ,
Ordinary Business Exception ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Statements ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Rule 14a-8 ,
Rule 14a-8(i)(7) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders
Once again, it is time to prepare for the proxy and annual report season. There are many issues to take into consideration when crafting required regulatory disclosures in a manner that conveys effective messaging to the...more
9/27/2021
/ Annual Reports ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Statements ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities Regulation ,
Shareholder Meetings
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Corporation Finance (Division) published a sample letter with comments that the Staff intends to issue to public companies regarding their climate change disclosures—or...more
On June 21, 2021, US financial regulators met with US President Joe Biden to discuss the US economy and update him on their efforts to address climate-related risks. According to the White House readout of the meeting, the...more
6/22/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
CCAA ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Executive Compensation ,
Forced Labor ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On March 24, 2021, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted interim final rules to implement portions of the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (the HFCA Act), which was signed into law by President...more
In another step toward the integration of climate factors into the US corporate disclosure landscape, Acting Chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Allison Herren Lee, issued a request for public input on...more
On February 24, 2021, Acting Chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Allison Herren Lee, announced that the agency will be focusing on public companies’ climate change disclosures as part of an effort to...more
On November 19, 2020, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continued its recent efforts to modernize and simplify certain financial disclosure requirements in Regulation S-K by amending Item 303 of Regulation S-K...more