Innovation in Compliance - Key Board Issues Going Forward with Christina Bresani
In Segway Inc. v. Hong Cai, 2023 Del. Ch. LEXIS 643 (Del. Ch. Dec. 14, 2023), the Delaware Court of Chancery (Will, V.C.) dismissed a claim for breach of fiduciary duty brought by Segway Inc. (the “Company”) against its...more
The SEC’s Cybersecurity Proposals - The SEC has proposed four rules designed to address cybersecurity risk and management, including incident reporting by public companies....more
In a case of first impression, the Court of Chancery held recently that officers, like directors, owe their companies a duty of oversight, although the scope of that will vary with their responsibilities. Two other Chancery...more
On January 25, 2023, Vice Chancellor Laster of the Court of Chancery issued a significant decision, finding as a matter of first impression that corporate officers owe a duty of oversight akin to the oversight duties owed by...more
The new compliance focus on executive compensation, as announced by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) on March 3, 2023, has significant implications for how healthcare organizations address both corporate compliance and...more
Here we have another in a string of McDonald’s cases—all of them arising out of workplace misconduct at McDonald’s, none even dipping its toe into employment law. First, you’ll remember, there were settled charges brought by...more
In our February 14, 2023 Stay Current, we discussed a Delaware Court of Chancery decision allowing shareholder derivative claims to proceed against a corporate officer for alleged oversight duty failures stemming from...more
According to a recent decision handed down by the Delaware courts, corporate officers must now contend with a new avenue of liability: the duty of oversight. Previously, only a company’s board could face personal liability...more
During 2022 the SEC issued at least 36 comment letters requesting expanded discussion about the board’s role in risk oversight. We summarize below the basic requirements of this disclosure and the most common new elements...more
It is well established that corporate officers owe the same fiduciary duties as directors under Delaware law. However, the Delaware courts have not had occasion to consider every species of fiduciary duty claim against...more
What are some of the challenges facing board members in providing meaningful oversight? Christina Bresani, head of William Blair’s Corporate Advisory Team, is here to share her take. Christina and I will delve into the...more
For almost 30 years, the Delaware courts have held that corporate directors are charged with a fiduciary duty of “oversight.” Directors must make sure that their corporations both (1) implement reasonable information and...more
This week, we are exploring a shift in the duties of care owed by corporate officers to the corporation. It is coming through the Chancery Court of Delaware in the case of McDonald’s Corporation and its former Executive Vice...more
There is a reason that lawyer truisms are just that: because they are based in fact. One of those truisms is that bad facts make bad laws. I saw that in the first year I started practicing law in case in Texas which forever...more
In In re McDonald’s Corporation, defendant David Fairhurst, who formerly served as Executive Vice President and Global Chief People Officer of McDonald’s Corporation, contested a stockholders’ claim that he had breached his...more
Takeaways - Delaware courts have become more willing to allow stockholders to pursue claims that directors breached their duty to oversee risk management and compliance. Directors are most vulnerable to suits where they have...more
In In re The Boeing Company, the Delaware Court of Chancery held that Boeing stockholders that sued the company over losses relating to safety problems with Boeing’s 737 MAX airplane had adequately pleaded that a majority of...more
In a significant recent decision, the Delaware Court of Chancery denied a motion to dismiss a derivative action against the directors of The Boeing Company stemming from the 2018 and 2019 crashes of two Boeing 737 MAX...more
The Delaware Court of Chancery on Sept. 7, 2021, allowed a derivative stockholder lawsuit to proceed against The Boeing Company (Boeing), alleging that Boeing's board of directors breached their fiduciary duties by failing to...more
The Delaware Court of Chancery recently issued two opinions — Richardson v. Clark (MoneyGram) and Fisher v. Sanborn (LendingClub) — that dismissed stockholder derivative claims for breach of directors’ oversight duties...more
In 2019, the Delaware Supreme Court issued Marchand v. Barnhill, which was soon followed by the Court of Chancery’s opinion in In re Clovis Oncology Derivative Litigation. Both rulings sustained derivative claims for breach...more
The latest Department of Justice compliance program guidance underscores the importance of having a board that is knowledgeable about the content and operation of the compliance program and exercises proper oversight. This...more
In Teamsters Local 443 Health Services & Insurance Plan v. Chou, the Delaware Court of Chancery held, at the pleading stage, that plaintiff stockholders had stated a claim for Caremark oversight liability against certain of...more
Directors of most for-profit U.S. corporations have long considered the corporation’s relationships with customers, employees, suppliers and the communities in which they operate — sometimes referred to as “stakeholders” — in...more
COVID-19 has had far-reaching social, economic and regulatory impacts. Nearly all companies (private and public, large and small) have had reason to more frequently convene their boards of directors to review and monitor...more