Should Your Company Take a Stand on Political and Social Issues?
Why Every Day Is Proxy Season for Public Companies
Corporate Law Report - Office Party Holiday Risks, Human Trafficking, the Fiscal Cliff, More
You may recall that, in January, ExxonMobil filed a lawsuit against Arjuna Capital, LLC and Follow This, the two proponents of a climate-related shareholder proposal submitted to Exxon, seeking a declaratory judgment that it...more
Each year in our Annual Memo series, White & Case's Public Company Advisory Group provides practical insights on preparing Annual Reports on Form 10-Ks, Annual Meeting Proxy Statements and, for FPIs, the Annual Report on Form...more
As we enter the 2024 proxy season, public companies should consider a number of key disclosure and governance matters. Below is a high-level summary of applicable rule changes, guidance, and disclosure considerations for the...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
Each year in our Annual Memo, White & Case's Public Company Advisory Group provides practical insights on preparing Annual Reports on Form 10-Ks, Annual Meeting Proxy Statements and, for FPIs, the Annual Report on Form 20-F....more
In anticipation of the upcoming reporting season, this Update highlights some of the most significant rule changes, guidance, institutional investor areas of focus, and trends for public companies to consider in preparing...more
Companies have important decisions to make as they prepare for the 2024 annual meeting and reporting season. We have compiled this overview of the latest key issues — including SEC disclosure requirements, SEC guidance,...more
Broadly considered, stockholder activism has been a significant phenomenon among the largest U.S. public companies, with activists of a variety of stripes waging campaigns on a wide range of issues including in the form of...more
At the end of 2022, the European Union adopted a law mandating detailed environmental disclosures and, for the first time, extending its non-financial disclosure requirements to many companies incorporated outside the EU....more
Shareholder meetings held this year are subject to new rules that require both companies and activist shareholders to use “universal” proxy cards in contested board elections. Until now, the company and the dissident...more
During 2022 the SEC issued at least 36 comment letters requesting expanded discussion about the board’s role in risk oversight. We summarize below the basic requirements of this disclosure and the most common new elements...more
As we enter the 2023 proxy season, there are a number of new regulatory requirements, both technical and substantive, that have been implemented, and many more on the horizon. For example, many companies will need to comply...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had a busy 2022, adopting a number of new rules and proposing additional rules, many of which are likely to be finalized over the next several months. In November, Glass Lewis...more
Companies are beginning to look ahead to the upcoming 2023 proxy and annual reporting season, and there are a number of key issues to consider as preparations commence. This alert provides an overview of these issues and...more
On November 15, 2022, Skadden held a webinar titled “Preparing for the 2023 Shareholder Proposal Season.” The panelists were Gianna McCarthy, Director of Corporate Governance for the New York State Common Retirement Fund (NYS...more
As discussed in our November 17, 2021 post, management of public companies are required to use universal proxy cards for shareholder meetings involving most election contests held after August 31, 2022. This means that both...more
On January 6, Katten Capital Markets partner Farzad Damania, along with Zally Ahmadi of D.F. King, George Lu of ADEC ESG Solutions and Ari Frankel of Solebury Trout, presented a program sharing their insights into the trends...more
This client alert provides an overview of recent key updates on environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters from the leading proxy advisory firms and major institutional investors. We also address updated guidance by...more
In our November 2, 2021 blog post, we highlighted a number of considerations for the 2022 proxy season. Based on recent developments, the following are some additional items...more
Fenwick has surveyed the corporate governance practices of the companies included in the Standard & Poor’s 100 Index (S&P 100) and the technology and life sciences companies included in the Fenwick – Bloomberg Law Silicon...more
On December 2, Larry Levin and Alyse Sagalchik, partners in Katten's Capital Markets practice, along with Ernst & Young LLP and Meridian Compensation Partners (Meridian), shared updates for the 2022 proxy season as part of...more
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis, the leading proxy advisors in the United States, have announced updates and clarifications for their voting guidelines for the 2022 proxy season. Their voting...more
On November 16, 2021, Skadden held a webinar titled “Preparing for the Shareholder Proposal Season.” The panelists were Gianna McCarthy, Director of Corporate Governance for the Office of the New York State Comptroller (New...more
On November 17, 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission adopted rules requiring the use of universal proxy cards in contested director elections as discussed in Release No. 34-93596 (the Adopting Release). Universal...more
On November 17, 2021, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted mandatory universal proxy rules that will apply for all contested director elections, which it had previously proposed in 2016. Under the final...more