News & Analysis as of September 22, 2024

Equal Protection › Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

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The Equal Protection Clause is a section of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution that provides that "no state shall...deny to any citizen within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." Essentially, the Equal Protection Clause provides that the government must treat an individual the same way that it treats other individuals in the same circumstances. The 14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause applies only to state governments, but the requirements of the clause apply to the federal government through the Due Process Clause of the 5th Amendment. less -

Fifth Circuit Scrutinizes Corporate Diversity Initiatives

Butler Snow LLP on 4/2/2024

After the U.S. Supreme Court held that Harvard University engaged in unlawful racial discrimination against Asian Americans in its efforts to achieve student body diversity, businesses have rightly sought legal guidance on...more

Top 10 ESG Developments for 2023

ArentFox Schiff on 12/11/2023

2023 saw terms like “ESG,” “greenwashing,” and “circular economy” come into common use. We also saw a tsunami of other environmental, social, and governance (ESG)-related developments at the international, federal, and state...more

State AGs Write Amicus Brief Arguing Nasdaq Diversity Rule Is Unconstitutional

Troutman Pepper on 12/7/2023

Republican attorneys general (AGs) from 19 states, led by Utah AG Sean D. Reyes, filed an amicus brief urging the Fifth Circuit to rehear a case after a panel of judges declined to entertain a lawsuit challenging diversity...more

Nasdaq’s “Show and Tell” Diversity Disclosure Survives Initial Challenge

Mintz - Employment Viewpoints on 10/24/2023

The Fifth Circuit has rejected the challenge to Nasdaq’s “show and tell” diversity rule that requires Nasdaq companies to publicly disclose the makeup of their boards. In Alliance for Fair Board Recruitment, National Center...more

Tracking the Impact of Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy and Other Constitutional Challenges Against the FTC

Venable LLP on 10/16/2023

In recent years, independent agencies have continued to face a number of constitutional and statutory challenges before the Supreme Court. AMG Capital Management struck down the Federal Trade Commission’s authority to obtain...more

Corporate Communicator - July 2023

Snell & Wilmer on 7/7/2023

SEC Enhancement of Share Repurchase Disclosure Requirements - On May 3, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) announced its adoption of amendments to the provisions of Item 703 of Regulation S-K (“Item...more

Potential Private Sector Implications of the Supreme Court's Affirmative Action Ruling

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP on 7/6/2023

The U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in the cases Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina upended prior...more

Board Diversity Initiatives Falter in the Courts but Investor Interest Is Likely to Remain Strong

Snell & Wilmer on 6/28/2023

Last year, Superior Courts in Los Angeles County invalidated two California statutes requiring specific diversity mandates for California public company boards (Senate Bill 826 “SB 826” and Assembly Bill 979 “AB 979”). The...more

Assembly Bill 979, California’s Board Diversity Statute, Ruled Unconstitutional

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP on 5/26/2023

On May 15, 2023, the Eastern District of California ruled that California Assembly Bill No. 979 (“AB 979”) violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment and 42 U.S.C. § 1981. As enacted,...more

California’s Board Diversity Statute – Assembly Bill 979 – Ruled Unconstitutional

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP on 5/25/2023

On May 15, 2023, a district court judge sitting in the Eastern District of California ruled that California Assembly Bill No. 979 violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment and 42...more

Another U.S. Supreme Court Ruling Erodes Traditional FTC Enforcement Authority Amounting to a Win for Digital Advertisers

Hinch Newman LLP on 4/17/2023

On April 14, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court afforded defendants the ability to directly challenge the structural constitutionality and existence of the Federal Trade Commission (and the Securities and Exchange Commission) in...more

Corporate Governance: 2022 Midyear Review

Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP on 7/5/2022

The first half of 2022 illuminated important trends in the corporate governance space. In recent months, there were notable developments in the enforcement of economic sanctions and export control measures, and the oversight...more

California Board Diversity Rules: Struck-Down Statutes and Paths Forward

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP on 6/20/2022

Even as California’s courts block the state’s landmark pieces of legislation, the push for board diversity persists. Over the last four years, California has enacted two landmark pieces of legislation regarding the...more

Los Angeles County Trial Court Strikes Down Another California Board Diversity Law

CDF Labor Law LLP on 6/10/2022

Last month, on May 13, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Maureen Duffy-Lewis ruled that SB 826, which requires publicly held California corporations with a principal executive office in California to follow gender...more

California Courts Strike Down Laws Requiring More Women and Diversity on Boards

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 6/3/2022

The California courts have cast doubt on the legality of laws mandating the number of women and individuals from “underrepresented communities” on the boards of directors of publicly traded corporations based in California....more

Two Strikes Against Board Diversity: What’s Next for Statutory Governance Initiatives?

Mintz - Employment Viewpoints on 5/18/2022

On the heels of the April 1, 2022 court decision striking down California’s groundbreaking statute requiring underrepresented community mandates for corporate boards, a different trial court dealt the state’s corporate...more

Abbott Labs Strikes Deal with FDA to Resume Baby Formula Production in U.S.

Robins Kaplan LLP on 5/17/2022

Abbott Laboratories, the maker of Similac baby formula and the company at the heart of America’s current formula shortage, has reportedly “reached an agreement with U.S. health officials to restart production at its largest...more

California Court Strikes Down Board Diversity Law: Now What?

Mintz - Employment Viewpoints on 4/18/2022

Jen Rubin, chair of Mintz’s ESG practice group, looks at the recent California court decision striking down the state’s law mandating corporate board seats for underrepresented communities. She says boards still need to...more

Court Strikes California’s Board Diversity Rule

Fox Rothschild LLP on 4/6/2022

A California court has struck down California’s board diversity statute, AB 979 as violating the Equal Protection Clause. California became the first state to mandate diversity on boards of directors with the passage of...more

California Poised to Mandate Greater Diversity on Boards of Directors

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP on 9/3/2020

On August 31, 2020, the California Legislature passed Assembly Bill 979 (Holden) (AB 979), which requires all publicly held domestic or foreign corporations whose principal executive offices are located in California to...more

California to Require Inclusion of Female Directors at Public Corporations Based in the State

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP on 10/1/2018

California has become the first state in the nation to require that publicly held corporations headquartered within the state include female directors on their boards. The new law, signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on September 30,...more

Supreme Court Declines to Review Constitutionality of SEC In-House Court

Carlton Fields on 7/25/2016

The SEC’s increased use of its own "home court" for enforcement proceedings has triggered constitutional challenges to SEC administrative proceedings (APs). See "Defendants Challenge SEC’s Increased Use of Administrative...more

Corporate Investigations & White Collar Defense - October 2015

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP on 10/23/2015

"Wherefore Art Thou Due Process?" Part III - Why it matters: It is time for another installment in our continuing "Wherefore Art Thou Due Process?" coverage into the ongoing constitutional challenges to the SEC's...more

SEC ALJ Slams Bebo; Summarily Denies ConLaw Challenge

Burr & Forman on 10/12/2015

Laurie Bebo, CEO of Assisted Living Concepts, initially got some sympathetic words from the U.S. District Judge who felt constrained to turn away her constitutional challenge to the SEC’s administrative forum: The Court...more

DC Circuit: No Jurisdiction For Suits Re SEC Forum Selection Choice

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on 10/5/2015

Suits challenging the SEC’s forum selection decisions continue to proliferate. As the trend has unfolded the Commission posted a memo on its website discussing the issue of forum selection and has proposed modifications to...more

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Equal Protection › Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

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