Nonprofit Basics: Conflict of Interest Policies and Best Practices for Approving Insider Compensation
FCPA Compliance Report-Episode 330 Robin Bew and Henry Stoever of the NACD
FCPA Compliance and Ethics Report-Episode 119-FCPA Year in Review, Part I
Recently, the SEC announced settled charges against a former chairman/CEO and director of Church & Dwight Co. Inc., for violating proxy disclosure rules by standing for election as an independent director without informing...more
As scrutiny of public companies continues to increase, it is important for directors and officers to understand the full range of protections from personal liability available to them and for a company to be cognizant of its...more
Seven years ago, I addressed the question of whether the board of directors of a California corporation could remove a fellow director...more
RGIS International Transition Holdco LLC v. Retail Services WIS Corp., C.A. No. N21C-12-077 (Del. Super. February 13, 2024) - Under Delaware law, a corporation generally cannot conspire with its own officers, directors, or...more
A California corporation is required to keep "minutes of the proceedings of its shareholders, board and committees of the board". Cal. Corp. Code § 1500. Minutes are required to be open to inspection upon the written demand...more
Most legal entities like corporations have officers and directors who, together, run the business. Directors sit on the board of directors and collectively govern and oversee the entity. In contrast, officers generally...more
Section 705(a) of the California Corporations Code provides that no proxy is valid after the expiration of 11 months from the date thereof unless otherwise provided in the proxy. This is a reflection of the fact that proxies...more
The California General Corporation Law expectedly grants inspection rights to shareholders and directors of California corporations. Unexpectedly (at least to practitioners outside California), the GCL extends those rights...more
Of late, Harvard has garnered an abundance of attention regarding the continued incumbency of its President. Despite widely criticized testimony before Congress and the publication of allegations of plagiarism, the Harvard...more
The California Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation Law contemplates three different methods for members to take action: at a meeting, by ballot, and by unanimous written consent. Cal. Corp. Code §§ 7512(a), 7513 & 7516. ...more
Effective August 1, 2022, Section 102(b)(7) of the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL) was amended to permit a Delaware corporation to include in its charter a provision eliminating or limiting the personal liability of...more
A number of recent SEC enforcement actions alleging failure to disclose perquisites, summarized below, highlight the importance of the questionnaires routinely used in connection with the preparation of SEC reports and proxy...more
Clawback compensation has been a longstanding tool for both public and private companies to recoup excesses paid to employees after the occurrence of certain untoward events. For example, it is not uncommon to find clawback...more
In recent years, we have witnessed a sharp increase in the number of lawsuits filed in Israel against officers and directors of companies and a broadening of the scope of their liability. As a result of their roles, directors...more
On occasion, someone might perceive that they have been improperly appointed as a director or officer of a corporation. If this unfortunate circumstance occur, is there any mechanism for publicly disclaiming the...more
Orrick's Founder Series offers monthly top tips for UK startups on key considerations at each stage of their lifecycle, from incorporating a company through to possible exit strategies. The Series is written by members of our...more
On April 24, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) extended the time period for its review and approval of the clawback-related listing standards from April 27, 2023 to June 11, 2023....more
On March 15, 2023, Chancellor Kathaleen St. J. McCormick of the Delaware Court of Chancery issued a rare post-trial decision finding a CEO personally liable for millions of dollars in damages for breaching his fiduciary...more
A bank’s board of directors should reflect the diversity of its senior management, its employees, its shareholders, customers, and its community. A diverse board of directors can help cultivate multiple perspectives from the...more
SEC Amends Trading Plan Rule, Requires More Disclosure for Insider Trading Amended - Rule 10b5-1 for trading plans takes effect on February 27, 2023. The amended rule adds new conditions to the affirmative defense against...more
For almost 30 years, the Delaware courts have held that corporate directors are charged with a fiduciary duty of “oversight.” Directors must make sure that their corporations both (1) implement reasonable information and...more
On January 27, 2023, the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance (Corp Fin) published four new Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations (CDIs) relating to the SEC’s recently adopted clawback rules. Please refer to our previous...more
In December 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) modified the rules governing preset stock trading programs for corporate insiders, known as 10b5-1 plans, which begin taking effect this year. The new rules...more
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati is pleased to present our 2022 Silicon Valley 150 Corporate Governance Report, which reviews the corporate governance practices and disclosures of the Valley’s largest public companies. ...more
The Court of Chancery’s decision in In re Match Group, Inc. Derivative Litigation1 is the latest example of how the Delaware Supreme Court’s watershed 2014 decision in Kahn v. M & F Worldwide Corp. (MFW)2 has been applied to...more