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
Following the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests against racial inequity in 2020, many companies increased their commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), as well as their external...more
Vinson & Elkins’ Shareholder Activism practice co-heads Lawrence Elbaum and Patrick Gadson will discuss how companies need to prepare against the year round attacks by shareholder activists. In a conversation moderated by...more
The SEC provides much-needed guidance on the new pay versus performance disclosure requirements that will be applicable to the current proxy season. On February 10, 2023, the Staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission...more
Part I of our two-part series identifies our Public Company Advisory Group's 10 important considerations when preparing Annual Reports on Form 10-K in 2023, organized in two categories: 1. Six Housekeeping Considerations:...more
The number of shareholder proposals made by activist shareholders, votes against management proposals and the number of publicly listed companies facing shareholder proposal continues its upward trend....more
Delaware corporate law continually evolves, and 2022 was no exception. As the year draws to a close and proxy season approaches, here are highlights of significant changes that may impact 2023 annual meeting plans, among...more
On December 6, 2022, the Division of Corporation Finance ("Corp Fin") of the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") issued three new compliance and disclosure interpretations ("C&DIs") related to new Rule 14a-19, the...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
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
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 memorandum outlines key considerations for U.S. public companies in preparation for the 2022 annual reporting and proxy season. ▪️ Part I of this memo, which was published in January 2022, describes key...more
On November 3, 2021, the staff (“staff”) of the Division of Corporation Finance (“Division”) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) published Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14L which reverses a series of...more
Alston & Bird will host this live seminar from our Atlanta office in addition to a live webcast. Learn about key developments and issues facing companies and investors and what you need to do to prepare for the 2022 proxy...more
On September 23, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments to modernize certain requirements for the submission of shareholder proposals under Exchange Act Rule 14a-8. The amendments most...more
The Situation: Late last year, a shareholder sued NorthWestern Corporation ("NWE") to compel the company to include a climate-change related proposal in its 2020 proxy materials after NWE had notified the staff of the...more
With the 2020 reporting season just around the corner, there are several compliance “musts” to focus on, as well as items that can be addressed in the remainder of 2019 to make 2020 a little easier....more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued several important recent updates regarding shareholder proposals and the related no-action request process for companies to consider ahead of the 2019-2020 proxy...more
It’s been a busy late summer and early fall for the Staff of the Division of Corporation Finance (the Staff) as it relates to shareholder proposals and the Staff’s historical involvement in the no-action process related to...more
In 2018, robust U.S. and global M&A activity substantially mitigated the downside risk for activist investors. With political uncertainty ahead of the 2020 presidential election, unsettled questions on trade and tariffs, and...more
In an important recent opinion, the Delaware Supreme Court ruled in In re Investors Bancorp, Inc. Stockholder Litigation that certain director compensation decisions would be reviewed under the “entire fairness” standard...more
Death, taxes and proxy season. Although it may seem like you just filed your 2017 proxy, the 2018 proxy season is on the horizon. This quick reference guide identifies considerations based on themes from 2017, offers...more
As the 2017 proxy season begins to unfold, proxy access continues to be a focus of shareholder proposals. Last year, companies that had already adopted mainstream proxy access bylaws, or that were planning to put mainstream...more
Activist investors continue to shape corporate governance. Last year saw more than 300 activist proxy campaigns, proposals and contests. Activism-focused funds manage over $100 billion in assets. In this climate, no...more
In This Issue: Executive Summary; Chapter 1 - The Legislative And Regulatory Developments Shaping The Proxy Season; Chapter 2 Say-On-Pay; Chapter 3 Key Disclosure Considerations For Proxy Statements And Annual Reports;...more
The Wall Street Journal recently highlighted director tenure in an article titled “The 40-Year Club: America’s Longest Serving Directors.” While the article noted that fewer than 30 public company directors have at least 40...more