On March 22, 2022, the staff (Staff) of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued six compliance and disclosure interpretations (CD&Is) impacting mergers and acquisitions. Two of the new CD&Is relate to Item 1.01...more
Background -
On March 21, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted 3:1, with only Commissioner Hester Peirce dissenting, to propose long-awaited rules that, if adopted, would require extensive reporting...more
3/23/2022
/ Annual Reports ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Regulation S-X ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
Background -
On March 9, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) released proposed amendments (the “Proposed Amendments”) aimed at enhancing and standardizing disclosure relating to cybersecurity...more
3/15/2022
/ Business Development Companies ,
Comment Period ,
Cyber Incident Reporting ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Foreign Private Issuers ,
Form 8-K ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
In our latest Legal Update, we summarize the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s 2022 calendar year filing deadlines and financial statement staleness dates.
...more
Background -
On December 15, 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued proposed amendments (the “Proposed Amendments”) to its existing rules (the “Existing Rules”) regarding disclosures about...more
On December 15, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) proposed amendments (the “proposal”) to Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) and related disclosure obligations...more
12/17/2021
/ 10b5-1 Plans ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Insider Trading ,
Material Nonpublic Information ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Transactions ,
Trading Policies
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
On October 14, 2021, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a release reopening the comment period (Reopening Release) on the clawback listing standard rule that it proposed in 2015 (2015 Proposal). Interested...more
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
This Legal Update summarizes the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s 2021 calendar year filing deadlines and financial statement staleness dates.
...more
In its 2019 Concept Release on Harmonization of Securities Offerings,1 the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) included a section requesting comment regarding resale exemptions, including Rule 144. While the SEC...more
On November 24, 2020, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed for comment amendments to Rule 701 under the Securities Act of 1933, which is the exemption from the registration requirements relied upon most...more
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Division of Corporation Finance published CF Disclosure Topic No. 10 (the disclosure topic) on November 23, 2020. The disclosure topic provides guidance to China-based Issuers:...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
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has amended Regulation S-T and the EDGAR Filer Manual to permit the use of electronic signatures for filings on EDGAR that are required to be signed and has made corresponding...more
On October 15, 2020, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a cease and desist order (Order), settling charges against a registrant for controls violations relating to a stock buyback plan implemented during...more
On November 2, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted to adopt amendments proposed in March 2020 that harmonize and modernize the exempt offering framework (referred to as the Amendments). As with...more
On October 8, 2020, the staff of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance spoke at PLI’s The SEC Speaks in 2020 program, providing insights on recent developments, rulemakings, guidance and initiatives....more
Preparations are key to a successful proxy and annual report season, and autumn is not too early to begin. While work on proxy statements, annual reports and annual meetings typically kicks into high gear in the winter,...more
10/1/2020
/ Annual Reports ,
Corporate Governance ,
Critical Audit Matters (CAMs) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
MD&A Statements ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Statements ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Say-on-Pay ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
On September 23, 2020, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments to Rule 14a-8 promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Rule 14a-8). The SEC initially proposed amendments to Rule 14a-8...more
On August 26, 2020, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments to Regulation S-K that are intended to modernize business, legal proceedings and risk factor disclosures. According to the SEC, the...more
Introduction -
This First Analysis article discusses the amendments (Amended Rules) adopted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on May 21, 2020 in connection with financial statement disclosures on...more
On June 23, 2020, the Division of Corporation Finance (Division) of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued CF Disclosure Guidance: Topic No. 9A (CF 9A), providing guidance on operations, liquidity, and capital...more
On June 23, 2020, Jay Clayton, Chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) discussed his perspectives on long-term investing, sustainability and the role of disclosures during a webinar hosted by FCLTGlobal, a...more