Shareholder proposal rule
On November 6, 2023, Institutional Shareholder Services, Inc. (ISS) announced the scheduled November 20 opening of its peer group submission window for U.S. and Canadian companies with annual meetings slated to be held...more
As Maryland public companies begin preparing for their 2024 annual meetings, we recommend that each consider the voting results of its 2023 annual meeting of shareholders. Maintaining awareness of institutional investor and...more
Delaware corporate law continually evolves, and 2022 was no exception. As the year draws to a close and proxy season approaches, here are highlights of significant changes that may impact 2023 annual meeting plans, among...more
As boards of directors of public companies prepare for their 2023 annual meetings and, relatedly, consider the voting results from 2022 annual meetings, we are being asked for advice concerning (a) the duties of...more
Our preliminary list of important planning considerations for the 2022 proxy season is set forth below. - Directors’ and Officers’ Questionnaires; Committee Charters - We have identified only a few possible changes...more
The COVID-19 pandemic, volatile market conditions, and increasing stakeholder attention to a range of environmental and social topics made 2020 a remarkably difficult year for many public companies. 2021 will bring new...more
Holding Your Annual Meeting Virtually—Lessons Learned From 2020 - In light of the circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, it comes as no surprise that there was a dramatic increase in the number of virtual...more
In anticipation of the upcoming reporting season, we highlight rule changes, guidance, and trends for public companies to consider in preparing annual report and proxy statement disclosures in 2021. During 2020, the U.S....more
Institutional Shareholder Services (“ISS”) published its proxy voting guidelines updates for 2021 (“Policy Updates”) on November 12, 2020. The changes that are likely to be of most interest to companies include new and...more
As COVID-19 rages on, companies are again flocking to virtual annual meetings for the 2021 proxy season, but with one important difference: the luxury of time. Many companies are already exploring retention of virtual annual...more
ISS and Glass Lewis have issued guidance on their corporate governance voting policies that adds flexibility to reflect the realities of the impact of the COVID-19 crisis and the challenges in responding to it. Public...more
Public companies and their boards can look to the recently released guidance of ISS and Glass Lewis when considering best therapies to address corporate governance and broader environmental, social and governance issues. The...more
Today, ISS provided special policy guidance on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, observing that, in light of the current uncertainty, it is appropriate “to provide our stakeholders with some specific guidance on a number...more
Across the globe, the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) is causing governments, companies, associations and colleges and universities to take unprecedented steps to address the spread and transmission of COVID-19. These steps...more
Companies preparing for their annual shareholder meetings will need to consider a variety of factors, including new guidance from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and recommendations from Glass, Lewis & Co. (Glass...more
In December 2019, Institutional Shareholder Services (“ISS”) published updates to its FAQs for its U.S. Compensation Policies and its policies related to U.S. Equity Compensation Plans with respect to annual meetings...more
Climate Scorecard. At this point, public companies are keenly aware of the growing emphasis shareholders place on companies’ practices in regard to environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) issues. In furtherance of that...more
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
In December 2018, Institutional Shareholder Services (“ISS”) published updates to its FAQs for its U.S. Compensation Policies and its policies related to U.S. Equity Compensation Plans with respect to annual meetings...more
ISS recently announced the 2019 updates to its proxy voting policies, which can be found here and which will be applied to annual meetings held on or after February 1, 2019. Among the various updates provided by ISS, the...more
Reevaluate Non-GAAP Disclosures in Light of Updated C&DIs and Other SEC Actions. As the reporting season gets underway, reviewing non-GAAP disclosure practices should remain a top priority in light of the new and updated...more
As our clients and friends know, each year Mintz Levin provides an analysis of the regulatory developments that impact public companies as they prepare for their fiscal year-end filings with the Securities and Exchange...more
Each company faces important decisions in preparing for its 2016 annual meeting and reporting season. We have prepared a checklist of essential areas we believe companies should focus on as they plan for 2016, including...more
Proxy advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis have both released updates to their policies that outline how they will form recommendations to shareholders on how they should vote on governance,...more
According to ISS, Emerson Electric (the Fergusson, Mo. – based electrical equipment manufacturer) was the first U.S. company to which ISS applied its new Equity Plan Scorecard policy....more