What Does The SEC Approved NASDAQ Diversity Proposal Mean For Boards?
Financing Challenges for Small Cap Companies
In May, Nasdaq proposed to revise some of its corporate governance rules—specifically Rules 5605, 5615 and 5810—to modify the phase-in schedules for the independent director and committee requirements in connection with a...more
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
Welcome to the latest edition of Fenwick’s Securities Law Update....more
SEC enforcement director speaks on AI ‘washing’ - In our April 2024 One-Minute Reads, we covered the concept of artificial intelligence (AI) “washing.” Gurbir Grewal, director of the Securities and Exchange Commission...more
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
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
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 number of significant regulatory, legal, market, and ESG-related developments and issues will affect how public companies approach the upcoming year-end reporting process. As in past years, Mintz has prepared an in-depth...more
Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Nasdaq have until Dec. 1, 2023, to adopt clawback policies that comply with the listing standards mandated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in Rule...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
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
As public corporations adopt clawback policies for incentive payments before the December 1, 2023 deadline in adherence to the NASDAQ and NYSE listing requirements following implementation of SEC Rule 10D-1, a recent Federal...more
As we previously noted, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted long-delayed rules on October 26, 2022, which will require companies to implement mandatory "clawback" policies with respect to incentive-based...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
With the Labor Day holiday now in the rear view mirror, we wanted to remind companies whose shares are listed on the NYSE/Nasdaq stock exchanges that the deadline for implementing a so-called “Clawback Policy” is fast...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
The Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 added Section 10D to the Exchange Act, which requires the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to direct national securities exchanges to prohibit the listing of issuers that do not develop and...more
On June 9, 2023, the SEC approved the NYSE's and Nasdaq's proposed clawback listing standards, including the amendments that delay the effective date of the rules to October 2, 2023. This effective date means that NYSE- and...more
On June 9, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published notices and orders granting accelerated approval of the amended clawback-related listing standards proposed by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)...more