What Does The SEC Approved NASDAQ Diversity Proposal Mean For Boards?
Financing Challenges for Small Cap Companies
ISS issues statement regarding consideration of diversity factors in US director election assessments - Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) announced that due to the recent increased attention on diversity, equity and...more
Citing recent DEI developments in the U.S., ISS released its Statement on Diversity Factors in Director Elections on February 11, 2025 announcing that it will “indefinitely halt consideration of certain diversity factors in...more
Companies should not minimize the extent of a material cybersecurity incident by omitting material facts regarding the scope and potential impact of the incident. Cybersecurity risk factor disclosures should be tailored to a...more
In what will likely mark the final outcome, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, sitting en banc, struck down the Nasdaq Stock Market’s diversity-disclosure framework on Dec. 11, 2024. The Nasdaq rules issue —...more
Welcome to the latest edition of Fenwick’s Securities Law Update. This issue contains updates and important reminders on...more
Insider Trading Policies. As previously discussed in our Winter 2022-2023 Corporate Communicator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) adopted final rules in December 2022 relating to insider trading policy...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated the SEC’s approval of Nasdaq’s board diversity rules. Consequently, Nasdaq-listed companies are no longer required to satisfy Nasdaq’s “comply or explain” director...more
Glass Lewis (“GL”) recently released its annual Benchmark Policy Guidelines for 2024. This update makes several changes to how the proxy advisory firm will evaluate company policies related to executive compensation. ...more
Clawback Rules. As previously discussed in last Winter’s Corporate Communicator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC") adopted final rules in October 2022 directing the NYSE and Nasdaq to adopt listing standards that...more
Corporate boardroom diversity has increased significantly over the last few years, and the interest in and demand for gender and racial/ethnic diversity on boards of directors remain high. Lack of corporate board diversity...more
Given recent declines in equity value in a variety of segments of the economy (technology in particular), a number of clients have asked us what levers are available for retaining talent. While they are rare and while we...more
During 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted rule changes and provided public companies with useful guidance on various topics. In December, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) released its...more
Two years ago, in the before times—before the pandemic, before a painful period of racially charged protests and clashes, before the January 6 attack on the Capitol—a group of nearly 200 chief executives, all members of the...more
The number of stockholder rights plans (also known as “poison pills”) adopted in 2020 significantly increased compared to prior years. The collapse in public company equity values during the inception of the COVID-19...more
On December 1, 2020, the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) proposed to adopt listing rules related to board diversity after determining that the national market and the public interest would benefit from a regulatory...more
This paper attempts to provide a definition and context for the term, Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”), explain how and why it is used, demonstrate how investors are driving the proliferation of ESG reporting,...more
Proxy advisory firms ISS and Glass Lewis have issued their annual updated proxy voting guidelines for the upcoming 2021 proxy season. Glass Lewis’s new guidelines apply to shareholder meetings on or after January 1, 2021,...more
Over the last few weeks, we have seen a flurry of activity concerning diversity in the boardroom. The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (Nasdaq) proposed to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) a new diversity rule and proxy...more
These days, so much seems so long ago and far away. In February 2016, after researching the economic benefits of diverse boards of directors, I wrote an article, How The SEC Should Tackle Board Diversity. Inspired by Helen...more
Regardless of size or industry, thoughtful director appointment is critical to the success of any public company. Yet following the departure of a director, many boards are left scrambling to locate and onboard a suitable...more
The sixth of a six-part series examining six specific and evolving rights plan provisions. As discussed in greater detail in some of our prior articles, a shareholder rights plan is a protective measure used by a public...more
Our Public Company Advisory practice has developed this quick-reference guide for U.S. public companies navigating the rapidly evolving regulatory landscape which continues to impact SEC filing and disclosure obligations,...more
This memorandum outlines considerations for foreign private issuers ("FPIs") in preparation for the 2019 annual reporting season. Part I (pg. 2) provides a summary of certain key trends and insights from the 2018 US proxy...more
On April 27, 2018, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Nasdaq, along with certain technology and biotechnology groups, released a policy paper titled “Expanding...more
Dear clients and friends, We present our traditional year-end issue of Snell & Wilmer’s Corporate Communicator to help you prepare for the upcoming annual report and proxy season. This issue highlights SEC reporting and...more