We are all in this together: In these rapidly changing times, more than ever, the Board needs to play its role with active engagement, thoughtfulness and resolve. Management is juggling the day-to-day business impact and...more
Board Diversity: A Reflection on Improvement and a Look Ahead for the Coming Decade -
In the second half of this decade, diversity and inclusion rose to the forefront of top priorities for many companies. Due to evolving...more
2/6/2020
/ Board of Directors ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Diversity ,
Minorities ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Quotas ,
Regulation S-K ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Secretary of State ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Woman Board Members
Election and Impeachment -
The presidential race will garner much of the attention during the 2020 election cycle, but there is fierce competition elsewhere, too. Republicans and Democrats are fighting for both U.S. House...more
1/10/2020
/ #MeToo ,
Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Impeachment ,
NAFTA ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Political Candidates ,
Political Corruption ,
Presidential Elections ,
Shareholder Activism ,
Trump Administration
Election and Impeachment -
The presidential race will garner much of the attention during the 2020 election cycle, but there is fierce competition elsewhere, too. Republicans and Democrats are fighting for both U.S. House...more
1/9/2020
/ #MeToo ,
Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cybersecurity ,
D&O Insurance ,
Diversity ,
Emerging Technology Companies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
General Elections ,
Impeachment ,
NAFTA ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Gap ,
Political Candidates ,
Political Corruption ,
Presidential Elections ,
Quid Pro Quo ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Activism ,
Trade Policy ,
Trump Administration ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
Woman Board Members ,
WTO
In this episode, the first of three building on Akin Gump’s annual Top 10 Topics for Directors report, partners Christine LaFollette and Daniel Walsh discuss corporate culture and board diversity, and what boards need to be...more
1. Corporate Culture -
The corporate culture of a company starts at the top, with the board of directors, and directors should be attuned not only to the company’s business, but also to its people and values across the...more
12/19/2018
/ #MeToo ,
Board of Directors ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Corporate Strategy ,
Cyber Threats ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Diversity ,
Enforcement Actions ,
General Elections ,
Popular ,
Sanctions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Shareholder Activism ,
Strategic Planning ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Trump Administration
Only months after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) first contacted thousands of oil and gas companies demanding detailed information regarding methane releases from gas production facilities and related equipment, it...more
Key Points -
- Congress acts to repeal the SEC’s Resource Extraction Payments Disclosure Rule.
- Full repeal is subject to President Trump’s signature.
- Once enacted, all future administrations...more
Here is our annual list of hot topics for the boardroom in the coming year:
Corporate strategy: Oversee the development of the corporate strategy in an increasingly uncertain and volatile world economy with new and more...more
It looks like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will have its own scary treat for the oil and gas industry this Halloween—an information request under Section 114 of the Clean Air Act designed to help EPA regulate...more
Proxy Access -
2015 was a turning point for shareholder proposals seeking to implement proxy access, which gives certain shareholders the ability to nominate directors and include those nominees in a company’s proxy...more
Executive and Director Compensation -
Perennially in the spotlight, executive compensation will continue to be a hot topic for directors in 2016. But this year, due to the SEC’s active rulemaking in 2015, directors will...more
Audit Committees -
Averaging 8.8 meetings a year, audit continues to be the most time-consuming committee.i Audit committees are burdened not only with overseeing a company’s risks, but also a host of other...more
Risk Management -
Risk management goes hand in hand with strategic planning — it is impossible to make informed decisions about a company’s strategic direction without a comprehensive understanding of the risks involved....more
Cybersecurity -
Nearly 90 percent of CEOs worry that cyber threats could adversely impact growth prospects, up from nearly 70 percent the previous year. Yet, in a recent survey, nearly 80 percent of the more than 1,000...more
M&A Developments -
M&A activity has been robust in 2015 and is on track for another record year. According to Thomson Reuters, global M&A activity exceeded $3.2 trillion, with almost 32,000 deals during the first three...more
Board Composition and Succession Planning -
Boards have to look at their composition and make an honest assessment of whether they collectively have the necessary experience and expertise to oversee the new opportunities...more
Social Media -
Companies that ignore the significant influence that social media has on existing and potential customers, employees and investors do so at their own peril. Last quarter, Facebook reported daily active...more
Top 10 Topics for Directors in 2016 U.S. public companies face a host of challenges as they enter 2016. Here is our annual list of hot topics for the boardroom in the coming year...
...more
Shareholder Activism -
Shareholder activism and “suggestivism” continue to gain traction. With the success that activists have experienced throughout 2015, coupled with significant new money being allocated to activist...more
Strategic Planning Considerations -
Strategic planning continues to be a high priority for directors and one to which they want to devote more time.i Figuring out where the company wants to — and where it should want to...more
Dear Clients and Friends,
At Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, we are committed to our clients, in good times and bad. In today's low commodity price environment, the need for creative solutions is especially vital....more
Proxy advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis each have released updates to their policies that outline how they will form recommendations to shareholders on how they should vote on governance,...more
In an unusual case, a U.S. district court in Massachusetts ruled on September 2, 2015, that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) must file with the Court an “expedited schedule” for promulgating the final “resource...more
On August 14, 2015, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) indicated that it would approve a number of export license applications permitting parties in the United States to swap crude oil...more