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
12/13/2023
/ Annual Meeting ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Board of Directors ,
Business Entities ,
Business Ownership ,
CEOs ,
CFOs ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Executive Compensation ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Stock Repurchases
To prepare for 2023, reporting companies should be aware of applicable SEC filing deadlines and financial statement “staleness” dates, as well as regulatory reforms that may affect the preparation and contents of disclosures...more
12/22/2022
/ 10b5-1 Plans ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Board of Directors ,
Capital Markets ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure ,
Final Rules ,
Insider Trading ,
Investors ,
Pay-for-Performance ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Risk Management ,
SEC Comment Letter Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)
On July 13, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), by a 3-2 vote, proposed amendments to the proxy rules that would narrow certain grounds under which companies may exclude shareholder proposals from their...more
As companies finalize materials for annual shareholder meetings, we recommend consideration of the following key requirements and disclosures:
SEC proxy filing requirements; website and submission requirements; proxy...more
3/7/2022
/ Annual Meeting ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Proxy Advisors ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Statements ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Shareholder Meetings ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders
Companies have important decisions to make as they prepare for the 2022 annual meeting and reporting season.
We have compiled this overview of key issues — including SEC disclosure requirements, recent SEC guidance,...more
12/8/2021
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Executive Compensation ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Insider Trading ,
MD&A Statements ,
Proxy Advisors ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals
On November 3, 2021, the Division of Corporation Finance (Staff) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14L (SLB 14L), which explicitly rescinds Staff Legal Bulletin Nos. 14I,...more
On September 23, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments to the procedural requirements and resubmission thresholds relating to shareholder proposals submitted for inclusion in company proxy...more
When finalizing proxy materials for annual shareholder meetings, companies should consider the following U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules and related guidance, as well as stock exchange listing standards...more
3/4/2020
/ Annual Meeting ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
EDGAR ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Filing Requirements ,
Form 10-K ,
Form 8-K ,
NYSE ,
Proxy Materials ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Meetings ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Stock Exchange
Despite political and economic uncertainties, markets and deal activity were resilient in 2019, and strong fundamentals remain in place heading into 2020. Companies continue to face a challenging litigation and enforcement...more
1/30/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Administrative Procedure Act ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Appeals ,
Arbitration Awards ,
Attorney General ,
Backstop Agreements ,
BEPS ,
BitLicense ,
Blockchain ,
Board of Directors ,
Bonds ,
Capital Markets ,
CFIUS ,
CFTC ,
Chapter 11 ,
Claim Preclusion ,
Class Action ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Common Stock ,
Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Congressional Subpoenas ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cooperation Agreement ,
Copyright ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Restructuring ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Corwin Doctrine ,
Covenant Lite Deals ,
Creditors ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
DACA ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Debt Financing ,
Debtors ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dischargeable Debts ,
Disgorgement ,
Disparate Impact ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Down Rounds ,
Drug Pricing ,
EBITDA ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement of Foreign Judgments ,
Enterprise Act 2002 ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FinTech ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Investment ,
Foreign Issuers ,
FRCP 23 ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
General Elections ,
GILTI tax ,
High-Yield Markets ,
Hong Kong ,
Hong Kong Stock Exchange ,
Individual Accountability ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intercreditor Agreements ,
International Arbitration ,
International Litigation ,
IRS ,
Issue Preclusion ,
Japan ,
Joint Venture ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Life Sciences ,
Listing Rules ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Make-Whole Premium ,
Mergers ,
MFW ,
Multinationals ,
National Security ,
PCAOB ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Political Parties ,
Preferred Shares ,
Private Offerings ,
Privately Held Corporations ,
Proxy Advisory Firms ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Refinancing ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Reporting Requirements ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Separation of Powers ,
Shareholder Activism ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders ,
Split of Authority ,
State Labor Laws ,
Stock Drop Litigation ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Litigation ,
Technology Sector ,
Third-Party Release Agrements ,
Transparency ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Valuation ,
White Collar Crimes
As Chairman Jay Clayton’s tenure at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) likely enters its final year — regardless of the outcome of the next presidential election — the SEC remains focused on priorities such as...more
1/24/2020
/ Accredited Investors ,
Administrative Departments ,
AFL-CIO ,
Auditor Independence ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Capital Markets ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Institutional Investors ,
Kokesh v SEC ,
Liu v Securities and Exchange Commission ,
Modernization ,
PCAOB ,
Private Investment Funds ,
Proxy Advisory Firms ,
Proxy Voting ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Share Class Selection Disclosure Initiative (SCSD) ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Testing-the-Waters Communications
Companies have important decisions to make as they prepare for the 2020 annual meeting and reporting season. We have prepared a checklist of key corporate governance, executive compensation and disclosure matters on which we...more
12/3/2019
/ Annual Meeting ,
Annual Reports ,
Audits ,
Board of Directors ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Director Compensation ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Diversity ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Filing Requirements ,
Glass Lewis ,
Hedging ,
Insider Trading ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Pay Ratio ,
Proxy Advisory Firms ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Say-on-Pay ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals
On November 5, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), by 3-2 votes, issued two releases proposing a number of amendments to the federal proxy rules. The first release proposed changes to certain procedural...more
11/8/2019
/ Anti-Fraud Provisions ,
Comment Period ,
Corporate Governance ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Solicitations ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rule 14a-8 ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Threshold Requirements
On October 16, 2019, the Division of Corporation Finance (Staff) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14K (SLB 14K), providing updated guidance concerning shareholder...more
Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS), an influential proxy advisory firm, recently proposed changes to its benchmark voting policies to be applied for upcoming shareholder meetings taking place on or after February...more
10/10/2019
/ Benchmarking ,
CEOs ,
Corporate Governance ,
Independent Boards ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Policy Updates ,
Proxy Advisory Firms ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Public Comment ,
Repurchase Options ,
Shareholder Meetings ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholder Votes
On September 6, 2019, the Division of Corporation Finance (Staff) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published a statement regarding no-action requests to exclude shareholder proposals under Exchange Act Rule...more
On January 25, 2019, President Donald Trump signed into law a continuing resolution that immediately reopened the federal government through February 15, 2019. The three-week continuing resolution is a welcome development,...more
1/28/2019
/ Continuing Resolution ,
Corporate Issuers ,
Division of Corporate Finance ,
Financial Statements ,
Government Shutdown ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Nasdaq ,
New Guidance ,
No-Action Letters ,
NYSE ,
Proxy Materials ,
Proxy Season ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Registration Statement ,
Regulation S-X ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Trump Administration ,
Waivers
On October 23, 2018, the Division of Corporation Finance (Staff) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14J (SLB 14J), which provides important guidance concerning shareholder...more
10/25/2018
/ Board of Directors ,
Corporate Governance ,
Executive Compensation ,
Micromanagement ,
New Guidance ,
No-Action Relief ,
Ordinary Business Exception ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders
On April 27, 2018, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Nasdaq, along with certain technology and biotechnology groups, released a policy paper titled “Expanding...more
5/10/2018
/ Biotechnology ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Capital Markets ,
Chamber of Commerce ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Emerging Growth Companies ,
Financial Reporting ,
ICFR ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Investment Banks ,
JOBS Act ,
Large Corporate Filers ,
Mandatory Arbitration ,
Mutual Funds ,
Nasdaq ,
New Guidance ,
Offerors ,
PCAOB ,
Proxy Advisors ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Short Sales ,
SIFMA ,
Small Business ,
Technology Sector ,
Tick Size ,
WKSIs ,
XBRL Filing Requirements
When finalizing proxy materials for upcoming annual shareholder meetings, we recommend that public companies consider the following requirements under the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules and stock exchange...more
3/12/2018
/ Corporate Governance ,
Cybersecurity ,
EDGAR ,
Form 8-K ,
Listing Standards ,
NYSE ,
Popular ,
Proxy Materials ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Statements ,
Shareholder Meetings ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders ,
Supplemental Information
The Division of Corporation Finance (Staff) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently published Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14I (SLB 14I), which provides important new and timely guidance for companies and...more
On June 8, 2017, the House of Representatives passed, by a 233-186 vote (with all Democrats and one Republican voting against), the Financial CHOICE Act of 2017, a bill principally designed to reverse many features of the...more
6/12/2017
/ Clawbacks ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Executive Compensation ,
Financial CHOICE Act ,
Pending Legislation ,
Proxy Advisory Firms ,
Repeal ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Trump Administration
As companies finalize their proxy materials for annual shareholder meetings, they should consider the following U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing and disclosure requirements. Ensure clarity on the proxy...more
3/16/2017
/ Annual Meeting ,
Annual Reports ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
EDGAR ,
Electronic Filing ,
Filing Requirements ,
Form 8-K ,
NYSE ,
Proxy Season ,
Say-on-Pay ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Meetings ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Universal Proxy Cards ,
Websites
Each company faces important decisions in preparing for its 2017 annual meeting and reporting season. Once again, we have prepared a checklist of essential areas on which we believe companies should focus as they plan for the...more
12/8/2016
/ Annual Meeting ,
Annual Reports ,
Audit Committee ,
Board of Directors ,
Corporate Executives ,
Corporate Governance ,
Director Nominations ,
Diversity ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Executive Compensation ,
FASB ,
Non-GAAP Financial Measures ,
Pay Ratio ,
Proxy Access ,
Proxy Advisors ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Resource Extraction ,
Say-on-Pay ,
Section 162(m) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders
Each company faces important decisions in preparing for its 2016 annual meeting and reporting season. We have prepared a checklist of essential areas we believe companies should focus on as they plan for 2016, including...more
12/12/2015
/ Annual Meeting ,
Conflict Mineral Rules ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Executive Compensation ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
PCAOB ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Say-on-Pay ,
Section 162(m) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals
The Division of Corporation Finance of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (Staff) recently published Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14H (SLB), which provides important new guidance for companies that may receive...more
10/29/2015
/ Conflicting Proposals ,
Manager Proposals ,
New Guidance ,
No-Action Requests ,
Ordinary Business Exception ,
Proxy Season ,
Rule 14a-8(i)(7) ,
Rule 14a-8(i)(9) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Wal-Mart