From Distance Meetings to Diversity Reports: 2020 Updates for NY State Businesses
The Canadian Securities Administrators (“CSA”) provided initial guidance on virtual shareholder meetings in February 2022 to: (i) assist reporting issuers in fulfilling their obligations under securities legislation; and (ii)...more
We previously issued a QuickStudy reporting that the Massachusetts legislature had extended to March 31, 2023 the COVID-19 pandemic relief that allowed Massachusetts public companies and Massachusetts non-profit corporations...more
Currently, the California Corporations Code prohibits a California corporation from conducting a meeting of shareholders solely by electronic transmission by and to the corporation, electronic video screen communication,...more
Amongst the many pro-business responses of the Irish Government to the challenges presented by the onset of Covid-19 in 2020 was the swiftly-enacted Companies (Miscellaneous Provisions)(Covid-19) Act 2020 (the “Covid-19...more
Last year, the California legislature enacted AB 663 (Chen) in order to provide California corporations with greater flexibility to hold virtual-only meetings of shareholders. Among other things, AB 663 amended Corporations...more
In September 2021, the North Carolina General Assembly passed, and Governor Roy Cooper signed into law, Session Law 2021-162 (House Bill 320), Part I of which includes amendments to the North Carolina Business Corporation Act...more
Dorsey Assists Alaska Corporations to Hold Annual Virtual and Hybrid Meetings - The Alaska Legislature unanimously passed Senate Bill 24, on March 22, 2021, allowing corporate shareholder meetings and nonprofit member...more
Le novità da considerare per l’imminente stagione assembleare e per aggiornare la corporate governance anche alla luce delle disposizioni introdotte per l’emergenza COVID-19. Le nuove modalità per l’assemblea dei soci tra...more
Just in time for the new proxy season comes this Report of the 2020 Multi-Stakeholder Working Group on Practices for Virtual Shareholder Meetings from the Rutgers Center for Corporate Law and Governance, the Council of...more
Many companies held virtual annual shareholder meetings in 2020. This was principally the result of the COVID-19 pandemic and related state shutdowns or stay-at-home orders. Typically, companies switched from the more...more
This year, forces such as COVID-19, current events and cultural groundswells have prompted society to re-examine everything from how we can safely gather to how we might best embrace and promote diversity. These concerns have...more
ISS recently issued guidance on how it will apply its Benchmark and Specialty Proxy Voting during the 2020 annual meeting season in light of the COVID-19 pandemic....more
On April 6, 2020, the governor of Delaware, John Carney, issued an executive order addressing the notice requirement for public companies that switch their stockholders’ meetings from a physical location to a “virtual”...more
On March 30th, Massachusetts Governor Charles Baker issued an executive order, intended to supplement the measures the Commonwealth has adopted to limit the spread of the coronavirus, that permits public companies...more
As the COVID-19 pandemic disrupts life across the United States with lockdowns and stay-at-home orders in many states and cities, directors and officers wrestle with alternatives for holding annual stockholder meetings in a...more
The protective measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, in particular the restrictions of the individuals’ right to convene, limit the ability to act for companies of different legal forms under German law...more
Restrictions on public gatherings currently prevent German public companies from holding their shareholder meetings. On 23 March, the German government published a draft bill amending German corporate law governing...more
On March 13, 2020, the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance and the Division of Investment Management of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued guidance to provide flexibility and assist issuers...more
In a previous blog post, we discussed the availability of virtual shareholder meetings (i.e., “virtual-only” and “hybrid” meetings) as a potential alternative to the traditional in-person meeting during the 2020 proxy season...more
Companies May Extend Disclosure Deadlines and Implement Changes to Annual Meetings; SEC Reminds Companies of Disclosure Obligations - The Securities and Exchange Commission recently announced that it is providing...more
On March 13, 2020, the staff (the “Staff”) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) provided guidance regarding potential changes to the date, time, location, or format of upcoming annual meetings of...more
There are several growing concerns associated with the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic and how companies can maintain "social distancing" while also continuing business as usual. As companies evaluate these concerns several...more
Travel restrictions, quarantines, office closures and social distancing associated with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) are rapidly disrupting normal business operations throughout the United States, and these disruptions...more
As a result of measures designed to limit the spread of COVID-19, Canadian public companies are reconsidering typical approaches to annual meetings of shareholders. Many public companies are deciding to hold virtual or hybrid...more