As the 2016 proxy season approaches, every public company should consider its position on proxy access and should have a plan for responding to a shareholder proxy access proposal. Based on lessons learned from the 2015 season, this issue of Boardroom Perspectives summarizes:

1. Actions a public company can take to prepare for receipt of a proxy access proposal.

2. Whether a company should wait and react to a shareholder proxy access proposal or preemptively adopt its own proxy access regime.

3. Alternatives available to a company following receipt of a proxy access proposal.