The 2023 proxy season is just around the corner. This quick reference guide, which is intended to supplement Shearman & Sterling’s 20th Annual Corporate Governance & Executive Compensation Survey, summarizes themes from the...more
1/26/2023
/ Board of Directors ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Executive Compensation ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Statements ,
Proxy Voting ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Rule 14a-8 ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders
The 2022 proxy season is just around the corner. This quick reference guide, which is intended to supplement Shearman & Sterling’s 19th Annual Corporate Governance & Executive Compensation Survey, summarizes themes from the...more
Today, Shearman & Sterling released its 19th annual Corporate Governance & Executive Compensation Survey, which finds that the boards of directors of the largest 100 U.S. companies have maintained their strong focus on...more
11/4/2021
/ Board of Directors ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Management ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Corporate Strategy ,
Cybersecurity ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Equity ,
Executive Compensation ,
Human Capital ,
Shareholders
On November 3, 2020, California voters approved several ballot initiatives including Proposition 22, which exempts online-enabled applications and platforms (such as Uber, Lyft, Postmates, DoorDash and Instacart) from a state...more
In last year’s Survey, we noted that concern for environmental and social issues (the “E” and the “S” of “ESG”) had reached an inflection point, having taken center stage from the more traditional governance issues (the “G”...more
10/2/2020
/ Best Practices ,
Board of Directors ,
Business Plans ,
Business Strategies ,
Capital Markets ,
CEOs ,
Commercial Real Estate Market ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Diversity ,
Executive Compensation ,
Golden Parachutes ,
Shareholders
It is well known that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on business operations has directly affected executive compensation decision-making and related disclosures. With this backdrop, the Securities and Exchange Commission...more
It has been three proxy seasons since the CEO pay ratio became the mandatory disclosure for most U.S. public companies. The CEO pay ratio rules allow a registrant to use the same median employee for comparison purposes for up...more
On June 5, 2020, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (the IRS) issued proposed regulations on Section 4960 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Proposed Regulations”). The Proposed Regulations are “intended to...more
In the wake of the market disruption caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, a number of employers have announced temporary salary reductions as a means of conserving cash, and thus demonstrating sound stewardship. This memorandum...more
If you are a decision-maker or part of a COVID-19 response team at a U.S. business, you are making urgent, daily decisions that affect the health and wellbeing of your workers, customers and suppliers, as well as the...more
4/1/2020
/ Affiliated-Business Arrangements ,
Board of Directors ,
Business Interruption ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Economic Injury Disaster Loans ,
Employee Retention ,
Executive Compensation ,
Federal Loans ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Health Insurance ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Payroll Taxes ,
Relief Measures ,
SBA ,
SBA Lending Programs ,
Shareholders ,
Small Business ,
Stocks ,
Tax Relief
Equity-based incentives are intended to motivate high levels of performance and align the interests of employees with those of shareholders. When markets decline steeply, however, many companies find that a significant...more
In this newsletter, we provide a snapshot of the principal European, US and selected international governance and securities law developments of interest to European corporates.
...more
1/24/2019
/ CONSOB ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cyber Threats ,
Cybersecurity ,
EU ,
EU Market Abuse Regulation (EU MAR) ,
Executive Compensation ,
Glass Lewis ,
Hong Kong ,
Italy ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Statements ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Shareholder Activism ,
Smaller Reporting Companies ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
’Tis the season, and no, we do not mean the holiday season. Although it may seem like you just filed your 2018 proxy, the 2019 proxy season is upon us. This quick reference guide, which is intended to supplement Shearman &...more
12/21/2018
/ Board of Directors ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Cybersecurity ,
Diversity ,
Executive Compensation ,
Glass Lewis ,
Institutional Investors ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Pay Ratio ,
Proxy Season ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals
Death, taxes and proxy season. Although it may seem like you just filed your 2017 proxy, the 2018 proxy season is on the horizon. This quick reference guide identifies considerations based on themes from 2017, offers...more
With the first required pay ratio disclosures only a few months away, the Commission, on September 21, 2017, issued an interpretative release intended to assist registrants in their compliance efforts. The guidance in the...more
On February 6, 2017, the SEC’s Acting Chairman, Michael S. Piwowar, issued a public statement requesting detailed comments on any “unexpected challenges” faced by issuers preparing to comply with the pay ratio disclosure rule...more
On January 22nd, Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (“ISS”) updated its Frequently Asked Questions for US Executive Compensation Policies and US Equity Compensation Plans. The original FAQs were published on December 18,...more
Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (“ISS”) recently finalized its Proxy Voting Guidelines (the “ISS Guidelines”) that apply to all shareholder meetings held after February 1, 2016. A number of the updates relate to...more
On October 28th, the Delaware Chancery Court, in Espinoza v. Zuckerberg, et al., held that stockholder ratification of a transaction that was approved by an interested board of directors must be accomplished formally through...more
11/3/2015
/ Controlling Stockholders ,
Corporate Governance ,
Delaware General Corporation Law ,
Directors ,
Executive Compensation ,
Facebook ,
First Impression ,
Mark Zuckerberg ,
Ratification ,
Self-Dealing ,
Shareholders ,
Written Consent
In this newsletter, we provide a snapshot of the principal US, European and selected international governance and securities law developments of interest to Asian corporates and financial institutions.
...more
10/19/2015
/ AIM ,
Capital Markets ,
Corporate Governance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Single Market ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Executive Compensation ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Israel ,
Limited Partnerships ,
London Stock Exchange ,
Market Manipulation ,
MiFID II ,
Nasdaq ,
NYSE ,
Private Equity ,
Regulation Technical Standards (RTS) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Rights ,
Transparency ,
UK
In this newsletter, we provide a snapshot of the principal European, US and selected international governance and securities law developments of interest to European corporates.
...more
10/13/2015
/ Alternative Investment Funds ,
Corporate Governance ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
EU Directive ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Executive Compensation ,
Financial Reporting ,
Germany ,
London Stock Exchange ,
NYSE ,
OECD ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Rights ,
Transparency ,
UK
On August 5, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission released final rules implementing the pay ratio disclosure requirements of Section 953(b) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The final...more
In this issue:
- HKEx Publishes Consultation Conclusions on Weighted Voting Rights
- Corporate Governance Reforms in Japan
- SEC and NYSE/Nasdaq Developments
- Sanctions Round-Up
- Noteworthy US...more
7/20/2015
/ Asia ,
China ,
Conflict Mineral Rules ,
Corporate Governance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Executive Compensation ,
Financial Reporting ,
Proxy Advisors ,
Sanctions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
UK ,
Voting Rights
In this issue:
- Financial Reporting: Commission Delegated Regulations on Equivalence of Certain Third Country National GAAPs to IFRS
- Proxy Advisers: ESMA Consultation on Best Practise Principles for Voting...more
7/15/2015
/ Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) ,
Alternative Investment Funds ,
Annual Reports ,
Conflict Mineral Rules ,
Corporate Governance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Executive Compensation ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Reporting ,
Japan ,
Money Laundering ,
New Guidance ,
Proxy Advisors ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Related Parties ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Small Business
On July 1, 2015, in a 3-2 vote of commissioners cast along party lines, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) proposed rules to implement Section 954 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection...more