Companies have been considering changes to annual meetings because of the concerns about the coronavirus and the disease that it causes known as COVID-19. The typical procedures regarding the presentation of shareholder...more
On March 4, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) published Release No. 33-10763, “Facilitating Capital Formation and Expanding Investment Opportunities by Improving Access to Capital in Private Markets” to...more
In preparation for the 2020 proxy season, Morrison & Foerster presents its top 10 expectations for shareholder proposals. We hope our clients and friends find this list useful as the proxy season unfolds....more
On November 5, 2019, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) proposed two sets of rule amendments that, if adopted, would play a prominent role in guiding the manner in which companies, shareholders, and proxy...more
On October 16, 2019, the Staff of the Division of Corporation Finance (“Staff”) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) published Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14K (“SLB No. 14K”) as part of its ongoing efforts to...more
On August 20, 2019, the Staff of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance published nine new Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations on the use of Inline XBRL. These new C&DIs provide guidance regarding compliance with the...more
On March 20, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) adopted rule amendments to modernize and simplify certain disclosure requirements in Regulation S-K and related rules and forms. These amendments...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s October 16, 2018 Section 21(a) report focusing on public companies victimized by cyber-related attacks underscores the importance of devising and implementing proper internal...more
On October 23, 2018, the Staff of the Division of Corporation Finance (the “Staff”) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) released Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14J (“SLB 14J”) to provide new guidance on how the Staff...more
On June 28, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) approved the adoption of amendments to expand the number of companies that meet the definition of “smaller reporting company” and require the use of Inline...more
On May 24, 2018, President Trump signed into law the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (the “Act”). While much of the Act was designed to provide smaller financial institutions and community...more
On April 4, 2018, the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance (the “Staff”) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) published two new Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations (“New C&DIs”) on the use of...more
On Friday, January 19, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced that “should there be a federal government shutdown after January 19, the SEC will remain open for a limited number of days, fully staffed...more
On November 1, 2017, the Staff of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance released Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14I (“SLB 14I”), which provides new guidance on how the Staff will evaluate arguments for omission of a shareholder...more
On September 21, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) published interpretive guidance (the “SEC Guidance”) to assist public companies in their preparation of the pay ratio disclosure required by Section...more
On June 29, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that the Division of Corporation Finance will permit all companies to submit draft registration statements relating to initial public offerings (IPOs)...more
On June 1, 2017, the Public Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) adopted Auditing Standard No. 3101, The Auditor’s Report on an Audit of Financial Statements When the Auditor Expresses an Unqualified Opinion, which the PCAOB...more
On February 14, 2017, President Trump approved Congress’ joint resolution to repeal the SEC’s resource extraction disclosure rule. That action effectively brings to a conclusion the SEC’s efforts to implement a resource...more
2/22/2017
/ Commercial Development ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Extraction Payment Disclosure Rule ,
Foreign Private Issuers ,
Minerals ,
New Legislation ,
Oil & Gas ,
Repeal ,
Resource Extraction ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trump Administration
Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (“ISS”) and Glass, Lewis & Co., LLC (“Glass Lewis”) recently updated the guidelines they will use to inform their voting recommendations for the 2017 proxy season. The updates address...more
On October 26, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”), in 2-1 vote, proposed revisions to its proxy rules that would require registrants and dissident shareholders to use universal proxy cards naming...more
In March 2016, the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) proposed new rules regarding disclosure of third-party compensation of directors. This third-party compensation, which may not be publicly disclosed, arises when a party...more
7/26/2016
/ Activist ,
Board of Directors ,
Directors ,
Executive Compensation ,
Foreign Private Issuers ,
Nasdaq ,
Public Disclosure ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Third-Party ,
Transparency
On December 11, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) proposed rules required under Section 1504 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Act”). Section 1504 of the Act added...more
Just ahead of the 2016 proxy season, the Staff of the Division of Corporation Finance of the SEC released new guidance—Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14H (“SLB 14H”)—describing how the Staff will evaluate issuers’ arguments for...more
On February 9, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) proposed amendments to its rules to implement Section 955 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”),...more
On January 16, 2015, the Division of Corporation Finance of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Staff”) announced that the Staff will express no views on no-action requests, arguing that shareholder proposals...more