The Informed Board Podcast | Pass-Through Voting: Empowering Shareholders or Increasing the Influence of Proxy Advisors?
ERISA Plan Fiduciaries’ Proxy Voting: Regulatory Updates
What are ISS and Glass Lewis and Why Should My Bank Care?
Proxy advisors, and specifically ISS and Glass Lewis, are in the business of advising asset managers on whether to vote for or against the thousands of director nominees and proposals that are presented to shareholders each...more
Under the new administration, several shifts in E&S have impacted public companies across a number of different practice areas. In light of these developments, companies are taking a wide array of approaches to disclosure,...more
This Cooley Alert that I blogged about earlier today – penned by Brad Goldberg, Beth Sasfai, Luci Altman, and Michael Mencher – has been updated for this development...more
Public companies find themselves rethinking disclosures relating to the diversity of their board and their director recruitment practices as they head into proxy season, given recent developments – including the US Court of...more
Institutional Shareholder Services (“ISS”) and Glass Lewis have published their Canadian benchmark policy guidelines for the 2025 proxy season. Key updates focus on the board’s oversight of artificial intelligence (“AI”),...more
ISS and Glass Lewis generally publish changes to their proxy voting policies around this time of year. Glass Lewis recently issued its 2025 US Policy Guidelines listing changes and clarifications....more
While your winter blues are hopefully melting away, recent rule making from the Securities and Exchange Commission is feeling the heat of several lawsuits. In this Snapshot, we review the legal challenges facing the SEC’s...more
Vinson & Elkins’ Shareholder Activism practice co-heads Lawrence Elbaum and Patrick Gadson will discuss how companies need to prepare against the year round attacks by shareholder activists. In a conversation moderated by...more
A change to DGCL Section 102(b)(7) that took effect last year permits Delaware corporations to eliminate or limit the personal liability of corporate officers for monetary damages to stockholders for breaches of their...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
“ESG month” may not be exactly what you think. It’s the moniker, according to Politico, ascribed to the plan of the House Financial Services Committee, reflected in this interim report from its ESG Working Group, “to spend...more
As companies begin preparing for the 2023 proxy season, we note that Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS) and Glass Lewis, the leading providers of corporate governance solutions and proxy advisory services, issued...more
Glass, Lewis & Co (Glass Lewis) and Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) have both released updates to their Canadian proxy voting guidelines for the 2023 proxy season. The Glass Lewis updates apply to shareholder...more
Proxy advisory services have been beset by controversy. In response, in July 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued final rules (the 2020 Final Rules) tightening regulations that govern proxy advisory...more
The 2022 Amendments have removed the requirements that call for proxy advisory firms claiming an exemption from proxy filing rules for solicitations to provide their proxy voting advice to subject companies and provide their...more
As discussed in our July 24, 2020 client alert, the SEC amended the proxy rules to establish a framework for proxy advisors such as ISS and Glass Lewis to remain exempt from proxy rule information and filing requirements....more
On July 13, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), by a 3-2 vote, adopted amendments to the rules governing proxy voting advice businesses (proxy advisors), rescinding two components of the proxy rules...more
At an open meeting yesterday morning, the SEC welcomed new Commissioner Mark Uyeda and bid farewell to Commissioner Allison Herren Lee. The SEC also voted to adopt new amendments to the rules regarding proxy advisory firms,...more
In this paper, BlackRock Investment Stewardship provides a preview of its perspective on climate-related shareholder proposals up for votes during the current proxy season. In 2021, BIS “supported 47% of environmental and...more
As companies finalize materials for annual shareholder meetings, we recommend consideration of the following key requirements and disclosures: SEC proxy filing requirements; website and submission requirements; proxy...more
On November 17, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed amendments to its rules governing proxy solicitations. The proposals seek to address concerns by investors and others that the current rules may...more
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis, the leading proxy advisors in the United States, have announced updates and clarifications for their voting guidelines for the 2022 proxy season. Their voting...more
On November 17, 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), by a 3-2 vote, proposed amendments to the rules governing proxy voting advice businesses (proxy advisors). The amendments would rescind two portions of...more
Yesterday the SEC approved new proxy rules requiring the use of universal proxy cards by management and shareholders soliciting proxy votes for their candidates in non-exempt director election contests, as well as mandating...more
On November 3, 2021, the staff (“staff”) of the Division of Corporation Finance (“Division”) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) published Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14L which reverses a series of...more