On November 3, 2021, the Staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Corporation Finance issued Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14L (the New SLB), which will make it more difficult for companies to exclude social...more
On November 3, 2021, Corp Fin issued new guidance which signals a major shift in the SEC’s approach to no-action requests to exclude shareholder proposals relating to environmental and social ("E&S") matters. Previously, the...more
On November 3, 2021, the Division of Corporation Finance (Staff) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14L (SLB 14L), which explicitly rescinds Staff Legal Bulletin Nos. 14I,...more
On November 3, Chairman Gary Gensler announced that the Staff (Staff) of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Corporation Finance released SLB 14L (“new guidance”) regarding shareholder proposals....more
As calendar year-end companies received shareholder proposals for their 2021 annual meetings, they faced a variety of uncertainties and challenges, including navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, addressing the racial inequities...more
The SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance recently provided helpful clarity regarding the exclusion of certain shareholder proposals under Rule 14a-8. The guidance, Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14K, relates to the “ordinary...more
On October 16, 2019, the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published Staff Legal Bulletin (SLB) No. 14K providing guidance on Rule 14a-8 under the Securities Exchange...more
On October 16, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) Division of Corporation Finance (“Corp Fin”) issued Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14K (“SLB 14K”) addressing shareholder proposals. This guidance follows Corp...more
On October 16, 2019, the Division of Corporation Finance (Staff) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14K (SLB 14K), providing updated guidance concerning shareholder...more
In November 2017, the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance (Staff) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued guidance concerning companies’ ability to exclude shareholder proposals from their proxy...more
One year after providing guidance on the ordinary business and economic relevance exceptions under Rule 14a-8, the Securities and Exchange Commission has revisited the issue. Our Securities Group investigates this follow-up...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released its Shareholder Proposals: Staff Legal Bulletin 14J on Rule 14a-8 earlier this week, following its November 2017 Staff Legal Bulletin 14I. This most recent Staff...more
On October 23, 2018, the Division of Corporation Finance (Staff) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14J (SLB 14J), which provides important guidance concerning shareholder...more