What Does The SEC Approved NASDAQ Diversity Proposal Mean For Boards?
Financing Challenges for Small Cap Companies
Welcome to the latest edition of Fenwick’s Securities Law Update. This issue contains news on...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit will likely weigh in soon on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) approval of Nasdaq’s board diversity rule that will require listed companies to disclose...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit agreed recently to revisit a challenge to Nasdaq's board diversity rule. As we previously reported, a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit upheld the rule in October 2023....more
The Fifth Circuit has vacated the opinion we discussed in our Oct. 30, 2023, client alert Diversity in the Boardroom: Fifth Circuit Rejects Challenge to the SEC Nasdaq Board Diversity Rules; En Banc Petition Quickly Filed and...more
Well – this took four months. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ordered en banc rehearing of an unsuccessful challenge to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval of the Nasdaq Stock Market’s rules...more
In August 2021, the SEC approved a Nasdaq proposal for new listing rules regarding board diversity and disclosure, accompanied by a proposal to provide free access to a board recruiting service. The new listing rules adopted...more
In this Client Alert, we highlight key considerations public companies should keep in mind when preparing their upcoming annual reports on Form 10-K and proxy statements, including rule changes, recent guidance and reporting...more
On October 18, 2023, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Alliance for Fair Board Recruitment v. SEC, 5th Cir., No. 21-60626 upheld Nasdaq’s board diversity rule, which encourages greater board...more
A Fifth Circuit panel recently upheld Nasdaq’s diversity disclosure rules after petitioners challenged them under the First and Fourteenth Amendments and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). Alliance For Fair Board...more
On October 25, a panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals (the “Fifth Circuit”) upheld the Nasdaq board diversity rule in the face of challenges that (among other things) the rule attempted to improperly and...more
In Alliance for Fair Board Recruitment v. SEC, a panel of three 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judges upheld Nasdaq’s rules on board diversity. The rules require each Nasdaq-listed company to disclose information on the...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (Court) recently rejected challenges to Nasdaq’s “Board Diversity” framework. Those rules require Nasdaq-listed companies to report that they have, or explain why they do not...more
As discussed in this PubCo post, on October 18, a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit denied the petitions filed by the Alliance for Fair Board Recruitment and the National Center for Public Policy Research challenging the...more
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
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit denied review of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval of proposed rules promulgated by the Nasdaq Stock Market concerning the diversity of directors on...more
On Friday, August 6, 2021, the SEC approved a Nasdaq proposal for new listing rules regarding board diversity and disclosure, accompanied by a proposal to provide free access to a board recruiting service. The new listing...more
On September 5, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) posted and declared effective a Nasdaq rule proposal modifying requirements related to a waiver of the code of conduct in Listing Rules 5610 and...more
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
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
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
The intense focus on board diversity from a variety of stakeholders over the last several years has spurred many companies to examine the composition of their boards and to take action to diversify their boardrooms. While the...more
In August 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved new board diversity listing standards for companies listed on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (Nasdaq). As part of these new listing standards, Nasdaq...more
On December 14, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved a proposed rule change with regard to upcoming disclosure deadlines in Nasdaq Listing Rules 5605 and 5606. The rule change aligns the disclosure...more
On August 6, 2021, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the listing rules proposed by The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (Nasdaq) to advance board diversity and enhance the transparency of diversity statistics...more
A new rule change designed to simplify the rules regarding the timing of compliance with the Nasdaq board diversity listing rules has been filed by Nasdaq and declared immediately effective. As you probably remember, on...more