In February, a federal district judge in the District of Columbia awarded proxy advisers a victory by vacating an SEC rule provision that they opposed....more
On February 23, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in favor of Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. on the party’s motions for summary judgment, ending a years long dispute over whether proxy...more
On July 13, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted to rescind several amendments to its rules governing proxy voting advice (the Final Amendments). The vote reversed some of the key provisions...more
The public comment period for the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) proposed rules on climate-related disclosures (the “Proposal”) closed on June 17, 2022. The Proposal, which was released on March 21, 2022, would...more
On April 3, 2017, the District Court for the District of Columbia (the “District Court”) entered a final judgment (the “Final Judgment”) in the case of National Association of Manufacturers, et al., v. SEC. The Final Judgment...more
The conflict minerals saga continues. Background - In April 2014, the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in National Association of Manufacturers v. SEC held that the conflict minerals rule’s requirement that...more
Late Friday, April 7, the SEC issued two statements relating to the conflict minerals rule which reflect a significant change in the staff’s guidance for public companies. The upshot of these statements is that the staff...more
Well, it wouldn’t be February without a “helpful” reminder that Form SD filings are due on May 31st and a new development that casts confusion over the process. This year, the confusion comes in the form of last week’s...more
On August 18, 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, in likely the first majority opinion citing Charles Dickens (A Tale of Two Cities) and George Orwell (Nineteen Eighty-Four), re-affirmed its...more
Sure, companies have spent millions and millions on conflict minerals compliance. But what have the conflict minerals rules cost the SEC? According to Reuters, reporting on a response by SEC Chair Mary Jo White to a request...more
On April 14, 2014, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued its decision in National Association of Manufacturers, et al., v. Securities Exchange Commission, a case involving a challenge to the SEC’s conflict...more
Last week, in the case of National Association of Manufacturers v. Securities and Exchange Commission, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals held that the SEC's conflict minerals rule adopted pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall...more
On April 14, 2014, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. Circuit) issued its long-anticipated ruling in the industry challenge to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) conflict minerals...more
If ever there was an SEC rule that refused to slip quietly into the books, it’s conflict minerals disclosure. With the May 31st Form SD filing deadline fast approaching, three things are happening: Companies are focusing for...more
On April 14, 2014, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued its long-awaited decision in the challenge to the SEC’s conflict minerals disclosure rule filed by the National Association of Manufacturers (“NAM”) and...more
As we previously reported, in August 2012, the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted controversial rules requiring public companies to attempt to determine if they use any of four “conflict minerals” - tantalite,...more
The National Association of Manufacturers, the Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America and Business Roundtable recently filed their opening brief with the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit...more