The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") has adopted new rules providing shareholders access to the proxy statements of public companies for the purpose of nominating and soliciting support for a limited number of director nominees.1 Companies may not, by shareholder action or otherwise, "opt out."2 For virtually every public company, these rules can have significant effects on the proxy process. Therefore, now is the time for companies to begin planning for the 2011 proxy season.

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