Directors of most for-profit U.S. corporations have long considered the corporation’s relationships with customers, employees, suppliers and the communities in which they operate — sometimes referred to as “stakeholders” — in...more
8/7/2020
/ Board of Directors ,
Business Judgment Rule ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Governance ,
Directors ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Human Rights ,
Oversight Duties ,
Shareholders ,
Stakeholder Engagement
In this month's edition, we examine the Court of Justice of the European Union's decision invalidating the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework, as well as the U.S. government's response to the decision. We also examine two...more
8/6/2020
/ Automotive Industry ,
Binding Corporate Rules ,
Broadband Privacy Rules ,
Connected Cars ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Economic Loss Doctrine ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
EU-US Privacy Shield ,
European Data Protection Board (EDPB) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Hackers ,
Insurance Industry ,
International Data Transfers ,
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) ,
Misrepresentation ,
Negligence ,
NYDFS ,
Online Platforms ,
P2B ,
Personal Data ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Privacy Laws ,
Schrems I & Schrems II ,
Security Breach ,
Standard Contractual Clauses ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
UK ,
UK Data Protection Act ,
United Nations
On July 22, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), by a 3-1 vote, adopted amendments to the federal proxy rules relating to proxy voting advice businesses (proxy advisors). The amendments categorize the...more
7/27/2020
/ Amended Rules ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Exemptions ,
Filing Requirements ,
Investment Adviser ,
Notice Requirements ,
Proxy Advisors ,
Proxy Advisory Firms ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Public Disclosure ,
Safe Harbors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Solicitation
In this month's edition of our Privacy & Cybersecurity Update, we examine the California attorney general's final regulations for the California Consumer Privacy Act and a ruling by the Indiana Court of Appeals involving...more
7/6/2020
/ California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Fraud ,
Cyber Insurance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
EU ,
Popular ,
Privacy Laws ,
Ransomware
In this month's edition of our Privacy & Cybersecurity Update, we examine the Seventh Circuit's ruling finding standing for an Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act claim, the European Data Protection Board's updated...more
6/1/2020
/ Appeals ,
Biometric Information Privacy Act ,
Blocked Mergers ,
Bulk Electric System ,
Business Interruption ,
Consent ,
Cookies ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cyber Insurance ,
Cyber Threats ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection Authority ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
European Data Protection Board (EDPB) ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Adversaries ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
National Security ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Popular ,
Privacy Laws ,
Remote Working ,
Standing ,
Trump Administration
In this month's edition of our Privacy & Cybersecurity Update, we examine Washington state's new facial recognition law, the U.K. Supreme Court's ruling that an employer is not liable for a data breach caused by a disgruntled...more
5/3/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Draft Guidance ,
Employee Misconduct ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equifax ,
European Commission ,
European Data Protection Board (EDPB) ,
Facial Recognition Technology ,
FSB ,
Mobile Apps ,
New Guidance ,
NYDFS ,
Phishing Scams ,
Popular ,
Privacy Laws ,
Settlement ,
UK Supreme Court
On April 6, 2020, the governor of Delaware, John Carney, issued an executive order addressing the notice requirement for public companies that switch their stockholders’ meetings from a physical location to a “virtual”...more
4/8/2020
/ Board of Directors ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Executive Orders ,
Filing Requirements ,
Governor Carney ,
Notice Requirements ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Meetings ,
Shareholders ,
Virtual Meetings ,
Websites
The question is no longer whether the volatility created by the COVID-19 pandemic will deepen the difficulties businesses and other institutions face in the coming months, but by how much and in what ways. In the past few...more
3/21/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Audits ,
Board of Directors ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Restructuring ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Court Closures ,
Debt-Equity ,
Energy Projects ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
IRS ,
Liquidity ,
Mergers ,
Power Infrastructure ,
Securities Litigation ,
Shareholder Activism ,
Shareholder Meetings ,
Stock Repurchases
As health organizations and governments around the world work to contain the coronavirus (COVID-19), businesses should be mindful of the various ways the virus may impact their operations and employees. The wide range of...more
3/5/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Business Interruption ,
Capital Markets ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Commercial Contracts ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Restructuring ,
Cybersecurity ,
Derivatives ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employment Policies ,
Equity Securities ,
Force Majeure Clause ,
Global Economy ,
Leveraged Finance ,
Life Sciences ,
Mergers ,
OSHA ,
Popular ,
Public Health ,
Public Safety ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Supply Chain ,
Virtual Meetings
In this month's edition, we examine the California attorney general's proposed modified regulations under the CCPA, the Treasury Department's new CFIUS regulations, and the SEC Office of Compliance Inspections and...more
3/3/2020
/ BPCIA ,
Business Losses ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
CFIUS ,
Cyber Insurance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Foreign Investment ,
OCIE ,
Popular ,
Privacy Laws ,
Ransomware ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Standing ,
State Privacy Laws ,
U.S. Treasury ,
UK ICO
The dawn of a new decade brings with it the certainty of ongoing challenges to the conduct of public company directors based on alleged breaches of fiduciary duty.
This note is a brief reminder for directors of Delaware...more
In this month's edition of our Privacy & Cybersecurity Update, we examine the EU advocate general's decision in Schrems II, a federal court's ruling that an insurer owed coverage for a social engineering loss, the Chinese...more
2/6/2020
/ Advocate General ,
China ,
Cybersecurity ,
Cybersecurity Framework ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
EU ,
EU-US Privacy Shield ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
GA Supreme Court ,
Hackers ,
Mobile Apps ,
Negligence ,
NIST ,
Personal Data ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Schrems I & Schrems II
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
Three significant trends mark the last decade in corporate governance, and they have only accelerated over time: (i) the dismantling of structural provisions that some shareholders believe insulate directors from...more
In this month's edition of our Privacy & Cybersecurity Update, we take a look at guidance on artificial intelligence released by the U.K. Information Commissioner's Office and the Turing Institute, as well as guidance...more
1/3/2020
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Consent Order ,
Consumer Insurance Products ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Management ,
Data Protection ,
Draft Guidance ,
Email ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Information Management ,
Insurance Regulations ,
Misleading Statements ,
NAIC ,
Personal Data ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Terms of Service ,
Transparency ,
Voluntary Disclosure
In this month's edition, we examine the landmark data breach class action in the English High Court against Equifax, the FTC's complaint against data colocation company RagingWire and a Utah business-to-business company's...more
12/4/2019
/ Commercial General Liability Policies ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Equifax ,
EU-US Privacy Shield ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
International Arbitration ,
Misrepresentation ,
Popular ,
Privacy Laws ,
Settlement ,
Target ,
UK
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 14, 2019, Skadden held a webinar titled “Preparing for the Shareholder Proposal Season” with panelists Amy Borrus, Deputy Director of the Council of Institutional Investors (CII); Marc Lindsay, Senior Strategist,...more
11/25/2019
/ Board of Directors ,
Business Roundtable ,
Diversity ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Glass Lewis ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
No-Action Requests ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Voting ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Rule 14a-8 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Special Meetings
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
In this month's edition of our Privacy & Cybersecurity Update, we examine the California attorney general's draft regulations on the California Consumer Privacy Act, the CJEU's clarified rulings on the use of cookies, the...more
11/4/2019
/ California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Cookies ,
Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ,
Crime Insurance Policies ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection ,
Draft Guidance ,
e-Privacy Directive ,
Email ,
Fantasy Sports ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Technology ,
Healthcare ,
Medical Devices ,
Medical Software ,
New Amendments ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
Notice Requirements ,
Personal Data ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Right to Delete ,
Spoofing ,
State and Local Government ,
Verification Requirements ,
Vulnerability Assessments
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
In this month's edition of our Privacy & Cybersecurity Update, we examine five amendments to the California Consumer Privacy Act, the EU Court of Justice's rulings on the "Right to Be Forgotten" and what qualifies as a joint...more
10/2/2019
/ Amended Rules ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Class Action ,
Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Controller ,
Discovery Disputes ,
EU ,
Facial Recognition Technology ,
Marriott ,
Personal Data ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Phishing Scams ,
Popular ,
Privacy Laws ,
Right to Be Forgotten ,
UK ,
United States
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
In this month's edition of our Privacy & Cybersecurity Update, we examine the European Parliament's report on whether and how the use of blockchain technology can comply with the General Data Protection Regulation, as well as...more
9/5/2019
/ Blockchain ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Cyber Policies ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
EU ,
European Parliament ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Insurance Industry ,
Misrepresentation ,
NAIC ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Privacy Laws ,
Risk Assessment ,
Security Risk Assessments ,
Settlement ,
State Data Breach Notification Statutes ,
State Insurance Administrations ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers