Companies have important decisions to make as they prepare for the 2026 annual meeting and reporting season. We have compiled this overview of key issues — including SEC disclosure requirements, recent SEC guidance, executive...more
12/16/2025
/ Annual Meeting ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Executive Compensation ,
New Guidance ,
Proxy Advisory Firms ,
Proxy Season ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Meetings ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Trade Policy
On December 11, 2025, the White House issued an executive order intending to limit the perceived influence of two proxy advisory firms — Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS) and Glass Lewis & Co., LLC (Glass Lewis) —...more
12/16/2025
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Adviser ,
Proxy Advisory Firms ,
Proxy Voting ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals
On November 25, 2025, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) announced updates to its 2026 benchmark proxy voting policies, which will be applied for shareholder meetings taking place on or after February 1, 2026....more
12/4/2025
/ Board of Directors ,
Corporate Governance ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Executive Compensation ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Florida ,
Institutional Investors ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Proxy Advisors ,
Proxy Advisory Firms ,
Proxy Season ,
Say-on-Pay ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders ,
State Attorneys General
Major proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis announced that it will stop offering its standard benchmark proxy voting guidelines in 2027, and transition clients to differentiated client frameworks. Glass Lewis’ change comes amid a...more
10/21/2025
/ Activist Investors ,
Asset Management ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Glass Lewis ,
Institutional Investors ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
New Guidance ,
Proxy Advisory Firms ,
Proxy Voting ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Schedule 13G ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Shareholders
Rule 14a-8 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 permits shareholders with relatively nominal shareholdings to submit proposals to companies for inclusion in the companies’ proxy statements. These are to be voted on by...more
9/25/2025
/ Corporate Governance ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
No-Action Letters ,
No-Action Requests ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Statements ,
Rule 14a-8 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ,
Securities Regulation ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders
On September 15, 2025, the Staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) Office of Mergers & Acquisition issued a no-action letter to Exxon Mobil Corporation that allows for the adoption of a retail voting...more
9/19/2025
/ Corporate Governance ,
No-Action Letters ,
Proxy Statements ,
Proxy Voting ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Shareholder Meetings ,
Shareholders ,
Voting Rights
As companies prepare for engagement with their shareholders in connection with the 2025 annual meeting season, they should be prepared for a change in the approach followed by institutional investors. These changes are being...more
The designation of SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda as the Acting Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on January 21, 2025, has resulted in a number of key policy developments. These developments, which we...more
Key Points -
- Board self-assessment processes aimed at improving board performance, composition, culture and processes are common but vary widely in how they are conducted and who is assessed.
- Most S&P 500 companies...more
Boards face a multitude of challenges, and opportunities, with the change in administrations. As we describe in the latest issue of The Informed Board, the new administration is forcing companies to reexamine their approaches...more
2/20/2025
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Board of Directors ,
Corporate Governance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Diversity ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Executive Orders ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Multinationals ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Supply Chain ,
Trump Administration
In this article, we reflect on key trends in ESG over the second half of 2024 and look ahead at trends that may emerge in 2025. We analyze developments in the latter half of 2024, which were similar to those highlighted in...more
1/6/2025
/ Antitrust Division ,
Australia ,
Board of Directors ,
Climate Change ,
COP ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Green Loans ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Loan Market Association ,
Member State ,
Modern Slavery Act ,
Nasdaq ,
New Guidance ,
New Legislation ,
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sustainability ,
Sustainable Finance ,
Tax Reform ,
UK ,
United Nations
Our checklist and analysis present matters for companies to consider as they conduct their 2025 annual meetings and file reports to meet upcoming regulatory, shareholder and advisory deadlines. We outline key issues to...more
12/11/2024
/ Annual Meeting ,
Board of Directors ,
Capital Markets ,
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
Earlier this year, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted long-anticipated rules mandating climate-related disclosures in public companies’ annual reports and registration statements (SEC Climate Rules).1 While...more
Explore the unique considerations for mergers and acquisitions in the AI sector, the return of IPOs, the implications of new Supreme Court decisions and other developments in this edition of Skadden’s quarterly Insights....more
6/27/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Banking Sector ,
Capital Markets ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Corporate Governance ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Executive Compensation ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Life Sciences ,
Mergers ,
Private Equity ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholders ,
Technology
Shareholder proposals submitted for 2024 annual meetings continued to cover a wide range of environmental, social and governance (ESG) topics. And companies seeking to exclude shareholder proposals they deemed inappropriate...more
Artificial intelligence is not just about chatbots. Increasingly, it is used by government for enforcement, and boards need to prepare for that, just as they need to get ready for upcoming climate disclosure requirements....more
5/21/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Capital Markets ,
Climate Change ,
Competition ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Machine Learning ,
Mergers ,
New Rules ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholders ,
Spinoffs ,
Tax-Free Spin-Offs ,
Taxation ,
Technology ,
White Collar Crimes
On March 6, 2024, the SEC adopted new rules mandating climate-related disclosures in public companies’ annual reports and registration statements. As anticipated, the rules are facing multiple legal challenges, which have...more
5/20/2024
/ Board of Directors ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Directors ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s climate-related disclosure rules pose a host of issues for companies. Below are answers from Skadden’s SEC Reporting and Compliance and Environmental Groups to some of the questions...more
4/10/2024
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
New Rules ,
Regulation S-K ,
Regulation S-X ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
When finalizing proxy materials for annual shareholder meetings, companies should consider the following areas, which are described in more detail below:
- SEC Proxy Filing Requirements
- Proxy Statement Disclosures...more
On March 6, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted 3-2 to adopt new rules mandating climate-related disclosures in public companies’ annual reports and registration statements. While the final rules are...more
3/11/2024
/ Business Strategies ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
New Rules ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Regulation S-X ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
In this month’s Privacy & Cybersecurity Update, we examine Delaware’s new comprehensive data privacy law, a joint statement by 12 data protection authorities on data scraping and data protection, a district court ruling on a...more
10/3/2023
/ California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Popular ,
Privacy Laws ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
State and Local Government ,
State Data Privacy Laws ,
State Privacy Laws ,
Web Scraping
In this month’s Privacy & Cybersecurity Update, we analyze the Biden administration’s proposed cybersecurity labeling program for smart devices, NIST’s extensive overhaul of its cybersecurity framework, and data privacy law...more
9/6/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
California ,
California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) ,
Colorado ,
Compliance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Labeling ,
NIST ,
Popular ,
Privacy Laws ,
Smart Devices ,
State Privacy Laws
On August 25, 2023, the staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) Division of Corporation Finance issued guidance to address certain open questions on the amendments to Rule 10b5-1 and related disclosure...more
9/5/2023
/ 10b5-1 Plans ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Insider Trading ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Required Forms ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Stock Options
In this month’s Privacy & Cybersecurity Update, we examine the newly established data privacy framework between the EU and U.S. and new consumer privacy laws in Oregon and Texas. We also review a court ruling that delayed...more
8/2/2023
/ Biometric Information Privacy Act ,
California ,
California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) ,
Cyber Incident Reporting ,
Cybersecurity ,
Cybersecurity Framework ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Transfers ,
Disclosure ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Economic Area (EEA) ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
NYDFS ,
Oregon ,
Popular ,
Privacy Laws ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Texas
On July 26, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted 3-2 to adopt final rules that are intended to enhance and standardize disclosures regarding cybersecurity risk management, strategy, governance and...more
7/28/2023
/ Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cyber Incident Reporting ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
New Rules ,
Proposed Rules ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Required Forms ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)