Environment, social and governance (ESG) or “sustainability” factors are criteria that are used to measure a company in a way that is not typically included in the company’s financial statements. For example, ESG can include...more
On May 13, the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, issued a verdict following a bench trial that effectively struck down SB 826, a California statute requiring the boards of public corporations based in the...more
On March 30, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published a proposal for new rules and amendments under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 governing initial public offerings...more
On April 1, 2022, the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, granted a summary judgment motion that effectively struck down AB 979, a California statute requiring the boards of public corporations based in the...more
On March 21, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued for comment proposed rules requiring companies to include climate-related disclosures in their registration statements and periodic reports filed under...more
On March 9, the SEC, by a 3-1 vote, proposed new rules in its most far-reaching effort to enhance and standardize disclosures regarding cybersecurity risk management, strategy, governance and incident reporting by public...more
On March 15, 2022, President Joe Biden signed the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act (the Act) into law as part of the $1.5 trillion fiscal 2022 omnibus spending package. The Act will create a mandatory...more
On Wednesday, March 9, 2022, President Biden issued a long-awaited Executive Order, Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets, that outlined a whole-of-government approach to regulating digital assets...more
As noted in previous client alerts (including here), boardroom diversity continues to be an increasing focus of stakeholders ranging from legislators to institutional investors to retail stockholders. In recent years, their...more
On Feb. 25, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed several new rules with the goal of increasing transparency around short selling. Rule 13f-2 would require institutional investment managers (Managers)...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
1/28/2022
/ Board of Directors ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Glass Lewis ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
Despite SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s recent statement that formal rules related to Environmental Social Governance (ESG) may slip to next year, the SEC recently began sending out letters prompting public companies to review and...more
As we have discussed in prior alerts, expanding boardroom diversity has been a recent focus for many regulators, issuers, shareholders and other stakeholders. To this end, in December 2020, Nasdaq Inc. proposed new rules that...more
On July 13, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced partially settled charges against the Special Purpose Acquisition Company Stable Road Acquisition Co. (SRA), SRA’s sponsor and CEO, SRA’s target Momentus Inc....more
On Friday, June 11, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed its Agency Rule List for Spring 2021 with the Office of Management and Budget. The Agency Rule List gives clarity to when companies can expect to see...more
6/16/2021
/ 10b5-1 Plans ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)
Most of the recent shareholder litigation that has followed the current wave of Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) offerings and associated business combinations has been based on federal securities law claims. ...more
In a prior alert, we noted that a number of shareholder lawsuits were brought during 2020 in which large corporations and their directors were accused of fiduciary breaches and securities law violations tied to the alleged...more
3/26/2021
/ Board of Directors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Corporate Governance ,
Derivative Complaint ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Facebook ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Pleading Standards ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities Violations ,
Shareholders
On March 5, 2021, the ICE Benchmark Administration (IBA), UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) made important announcements regarding the timelines of the cessations...more
Nary a day goes by when we do not get an inquiry about SPACs. This primer provides you with an introduction to SPACs. Among other things, it explains what a SPAC is, lays out the economic terms of the equity offered in a SPAC...more
On Dec. 28, 2020, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) proposed amendments to its rules requiring shareholder approval prior to the issuance of securities to Related Parties or in excess of 20% of the issuer’s voting power or...more
On Dec. 22, 2020, the Staff of the Division of Corporation Finance (Staff) issued CF Disclosure Guidance: Topic 11 – Special Purpose Acquisition Companies to provide its views about certain disclosure considerations for...more
The change in administration that will take place on Jan. 20, 2021, will likely have significant consequences for leveraged lending market participants. The relatively “soft touch” regulatory approach taken by federal...more
On Dec. 16, 2020, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (the GAO) issued a report to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Department of the Treasury, the...more
On Nov. 19, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments to the disclosure rules affecting Management’s Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) and related financial disclosures. ...more
On Nov. 30, 2020, Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. announced that ICE Benchmark Administration Limited (IBA) is proposing the cessation of the publication of the one-week and two-month U.S. dollar LIBOR on Dec. 31, 2021, and...more