In a much-anticipated and hotly debated development, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC” or the “Commission”) has issued Rule 14a-11 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), facilitating access by shareholders to public companies’ proxy statements in order to propose nominees for election to the Board of Directors. The rule, originally proposed by the SEC in May 2009 and explicitly authorized by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”), will take effect on November 16, 2010.1 Therefore, companies that mailed their definitive proxy materials on or after March 15, 2010 will be subject to Rule 14a-11 for their 2011 annual meetings, since the nomination window (as described below) for such companies will be open for all or a portion of the time provided for nominations by Rule 14a-11. Mintz Levin’s Securities Practice Group will conduct a free webinar on the new rule on October 27, 2010, which will include practical pointers and strategies for addressing the reality of proxy access for the 2011 proxy season.