Public companies planning to grant stock options, SARs or similar option-like instruments to executive officers in 2024 should consider whether to avoid the windows in which a new disclosure requirement under SEC rules...more
Public Companies are Exempt, But . . .
Public companies have an exemption from the filing requirements under the new Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) reporting rules. The public company exemption applies to companies that...more
The new SEC cybersecurity rules (Release No. 33-11216), codify and build on earlier SEC guidance on cybersecurity risks and incidents and require specific cybersecurity-related disclosures....more
In the iconic “The Princess Bride,” Miracle Max observes that there is a big difference between “all dead” and “mostly dead” and then goes on to prove it. In Holifield v. XRI Investment LLC, 2023 WL 5761367 (Del. Supr. Sept....more
Two recent decisions of the Delaware Court of Chancery offer increased flexibility for Delaware corporations to adopt differential voting by stockholders. Differential voting has typically been used to give key stockholders...more
We are updating our March 6, 2023 QuickStudy that discussed the new statutory exemption under section 15(b)(13) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 from broker registration that allows unregistered M&A advisers to provide...more
On May 3, 2023, the SEC adopted final rules relating to corporate stock buybacks. The new rules have some significant differences from those the SEC proposed in December 2021. While the new rules do require significantly...more
On April 24, 2023, the SEC extended, for a short time, the deadline for the effectiveness of stock exchange listing requirements under the Dodd Frank Act that will require listed companies to adopt clawback policies for...more
The public comment period for the new NYSE and Nasdaq listing standards requiring public companies to have expanded clawback policies ended on April 3, 2023. The new standards will require listed companies to have clawback...more
The SEC announced on February 3, 2023 a settled enforcement action against Activision Blizzard, Inc., finding that it failed to have adequate controls for reporting widespread workplace misconduct to management and used...more
This article describes two recent Delaware decisions relevant to the Model Business Corporation Act (the “MBCA”). One of those decisions relates to a board’s determination of the availability of surplus to support...more
On December 14, 2022, the SEC unanimously adopted cooling-off periods and other changes to how plans adopted under Rule 10b5-1 (“10b5-1 Plans”) will work going forward. Executive officers and directors of public companies...more
On December 9th, the UK Government, as part of the Edinburgh Reforms, announced a number of reforms to the UK capital markets landscape. Many of the changes reflect existing post-Brexit governmental findings, following...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has recently brought several enforcement actions that directly or indirectly involved lawyers. These actions provide reminders to lawyers of their professional responsibility in...more
The Delaware General Corporation Law (§ 102(b)(7)) has been amended, effective August 1, 2022, to permit exculpation of corporate officers, but in a more limited way than the exculpation of directors that has long been...more
On March 21, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) proposed new rules (the “Proposal”) that, if finalized, will require reporting companies to disclose climate-related risks, metrics, and other information in...more
Last week, the SEC proposed new rules that would shorten the time periods for filing a Schedule 13D or 13G after acquisition of beneficial ownership of 5% or more of the voting stock of a public company from 10 days to 5...more
In an important decision, the Delaware Court of Chancery, in In re Multiplan Corp. Stockholders Litigation, 2022 WL 24060 (Del. Ch. Jan. 3, 2022), in denying the defendants’ motion to dismiss, addressed claims against the...more
Derivative actions play an important role in policing corporate insider conduct and compliance by directors and controlling stockholders with their fiduciary duties. A derivative action enables a stockholder, upon...more
On August 6, 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved Nasdaq’s proposed rule regarding diversity of boards of directors. The approved rule requires that most companies listed on Nasdaq (i) “[p]ublicly...more
On July 29, 2021, both the SEC and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced charges against Trevor Milton, the founder, former CEO and former executive chairman of Nikola Corporation, a company...more
As discussed last January, Delaware courts have lowered the threshold for stockholders to gain access to books and records. Stockholders are permitted to obtain books and records so long as they can show a credible basis to...more
In a settled enforcement action against Under Armour Inc. announced on May 3, 2021 the SEC reminded companies that managing earnings, even if accounted for correctly, can have MD&A implications triggering disclosure...more
In Robinson v. National Collegiate Student Loan Trust 2006-2, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts accepted the validity of the “valid when made” doctrine. The District Court’s acceptance is noteworthy...more
The Delaware Court of Chancery, in The Williams Companies Stockholder Litigation, 2021 WL 754593 (Del. Ch. Feb. 26, 2021), struck down a shareholder rights plan (commonly known as a “poison pill”) adopted by The Williams...more