Nonprofit Basics: Conflict of Interest Policies and Best Practices for Approving Insider Compensation
FCPA Compliance Report-Episode 330 Robin Bew and Henry Stoever of the NACD
FCPA Compliance and Ethics Report-Episode 119-FCPA Year in Review, Part I
Seven years ago, I addressed the question of whether the board of directors of a California corporation could remove a fellow director...more
A California corporation is required to keep "minutes of the proceedings of its shareholders, board and committees of the board". Cal. Corp. Code § 1500. Minutes are required to be open to inspection upon the written demand...more
Most legal entities like corporations have officers and directors who, together, run the business. Directors sit on the board of directors and collectively govern and oversee the entity. In contrast, officers generally...more
Section 705(a) of the California Corporations Code provides that no proxy is valid after the expiration of 11 months from the date thereof unless otherwise provided in the proxy. This is a reflection of the fact that proxies...more
The California General Corporation Law expectedly grants inspection rights to shareholders and directors of California corporations. Unexpectedly (at least to practitioners outside California), the GCL extends those rights...more
Many wineries operate as closely held companies, meaning they’re owned by an individual or small group of shareholders, who are often members of the same family. Disputes regarding ownership interests can arise, particularly...more
The California Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation Law contemplates three different methods for members to take action: at a meeting, by ballot, and by unanimous written consent. Cal. Corp. Code §§ 7512(a), 7513 & 7516. ...more
Effective August 1, 2022, Section 102(b)(7) of the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL) was amended to permit a Delaware corporation to include in its charter a provision eliminating or limiting the personal liability of...more
Clawback compensation has been a longstanding tool for both public and private companies to recoup excesses paid to employees after the occurrence of certain untoward events. For example, it is not uncommon to find clawback...more
On occasion, someone might perceive that they have been improperly appointed as a director or officer of a corporation. If this unfortunate circumstance occur, is there any mechanism for publicly disclaiming the...more
On April 24, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) extended the time period for its review and approval of the clawback-related listing standards from April 27, 2023 to June 11, 2023....more
On March 15, 2023, Chancellor Kathaleen St. J. McCormick of the Delaware Court of Chancery issued a rare post-trial decision finding a CEO personally liable for millions of dollars in damages for breaching his fiduciary...more
On January 27, 2023, the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance (Corp Fin) published four new Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations (CDIs) relating to the SEC’s recently adopted clawback rules. Please refer to our previous...more
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati is pleased to present our 2022 Silicon Valley 150 Corporate Governance Report, which reviews the corporate governance practices and disclosures of the Valley’s largest public companies. ...more
The Court of Chancery’s decision in In re Match Group, Inc. Derivative Litigation1 is the latest example of how the Delaware Supreme Court’s watershed 2014 decision in Kahn v. M & F Worldwide Corp. (MFW)2 has been applied to...more
On October 26, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted long-delayed rules which will require companies to implement mandatory "clawback" policies with respect to incentive-based compensation if the company's...more
On October 26, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved final rules that will ultimately require public companies to adopt, enforce, and disclose policies to recover (or “clawback”) excess...more
As has been widely reported, the Securities and Exchange Commission last week finally adopted rules requiring the securities exchanges to adopt listing standards requiring listed companies to develop and implement policies...more
Key Highlights - - Centerra Judge found the breaches of fiduciary duties the most egregious he had ever seen. - Nominee director principles in Centerra are relevant to directors of corporations governed by the Canada...more
Managers of LLCs have similar duties to members of LLCs. A breach of these fiduciary duties can lead to a lawsuit and personal liability for directors, officers and LLC managers. ...more
The owners of a corporation may enter into shareholder agreements. In Richie, the Texas Supreme Court stated: “Shareholders of closely-held corporations may address and resolve such difficulties by entering into shareholder...more
In wake of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the California legislature saw fit to add Section 2207 to the California Corporations Code. The statute threatens corporations with a $1 million civil penalty if they have actual knowledge...more
IRS Form 5471 is used by certain U.S. persons who are officers, directors, or shareholders in certain foreign corporations and must be attached to a covered Taxpayer’s Tax Return. On April 16, 2019, IRS announced the...more
Directors and officers (D&Os) of troubled companies should be highly sensitive to D&O insurance policies with Prior Act Exclusion. While policies with such exclusion may be cheaper, a recent decision by the U.S. Court of...more
The Delaware Supreme Court requested further consideration of the federal due-process issues that might arise where a court is asked to hold that a shareholder derivative action is precluded because a prior derivative action...more