Should Your Company Take a Stand on Political and Social Issues?
Why Every Day Is Proxy Season for Public Companies
Corporate Law Report - Office Party Holiday Risks, Human Trafficking, the Fiscal Cliff, More
In connection with the upcoming Form 10-K/proxy season, public companies with a fiscal year ending on December 31 will be required, for the first time, to publicly file their insider trading policies as exhibits to their...more
Here are 10 bullets you can tell your senior management team and board based on lessons learned about shareholder proposals from this proxy season (hat tip to Proxy Analytics’ Steve Pantina for his help with these)...more
This article from Morningstar published on the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance examines three major trends of the 2024 proxy season regarding environmental, social and governance shareholder proposals. The...more
Despite being home to the Silicon Valley, California has not embraced with abandon virtual-only meetings of shareholders. Section 600(e) of the Corporations Code currently does not permit virtual only meetings unless one of...more
On August 1, 2024, ISS Governance (ISS) announced the launch of its Annual Benchmark Policy Survey. The survey results will inform ISS’s policy development for 2025 and beyond. For the U.S. market, the survey solicits views...more
Both investors and companies are maturing in how they view critical issues raised at the corporate ballot box. Even amid a proxy season that included “the priciest shareholder fight ever,” according to The Wall Street...more
Shareholder proposals submitted for 2024 annual meetings continued to cover a wide range of environmental, social and governance (ESG) topics. And companies seeking to exclude shareholder proposals they deemed inappropriate...more
The number of pro-DEI proposals submitted by shareholders decreased overall in the 2024 proxy season compared to the 2023 proxy season, according to data provided by Proxy Analytics. Average support for DEI proposals...more
The number of anti-Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion proposals submitted by shareholders increased overall in the 2024 proxy season compared to the 2023 proxy season, according to data provided by Proxy Analytics. However,...more
Welcome to the latest edition of Fenwick’s Securities Law Update....more
Following the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests against racial inequity in 2020, many companies increased their commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), as well as their external...more
Join us for the next KPMG Board Leadership Center quarterly webcast as we discuss trends from the proxy season. Topics - A look at proxy voting trends and outcomes - The board’s story and corporate disclosure -...more
You may recall that, in January, ExxonMobil filed a lawsuit against Arjuna Capital, LLC and Follow This, the two proponents of a climate-related shareholder proposal submitted to Exxon, seeking a declaratory judgment that it...more
The California Nonprofit Corporation Law defines a "proxy" as a "written authorization signed by a member or the member's attorney in fact giving another person or persons power to vote on behalf of such member". Cal. Corp....more
In December 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted final rules relating to insider trading arrangements and related disclosures. Among other things, the final rules require new issuer disclosures...more
NEW CLIMATE-DISCLOSURE RULES SUBJECT TO HEAT OF LEGAL CHALLENGES - While your winter blues are hopefully melting away, recent rule making from the Securities and Exchange Commission is feeling the heat of several lawsuits....more
Each year in our Annual Memo series, White & Case's Public Company Advisory Group provides practical insights on preparing Annual Reports on Form 10-Ks, Annual Meeting Proxy Statements and, for FPIs, the Annual Report on Form...more
The Canadian Securities Administrators (“CSA”) provided initial guidance on virtual shareholder meetings in February 2022 to: (i) assist reporting issuers in fulfilling their obligations under securities legislation; and (ii)...more
In preparing for both the 2024 proxy season and publication of inaugural or refreshed corporate social responsibility or sustainability reports, as well as in anticipation of final climate disclosure rules from the SEC as of...more
As we approach the 2024 proxy season, companies are preparing for the second year of compliance with the pay vs. performance (PvP) disclosure required under Item 402(v) of Regulation S-K. As a reminder, under Item 402(v) of...more
Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services (“ISS”) recently published their Canadian benchmark policy guidelines and updates for the 2024 proxy season. Key updates focus on board accountability for climate-related...more
As we enter the 2024 proxy season, public companies should consider a number of key disclosure and governance matters. Below is a high-level summary of applicable rule changes, guidance, and disclosure considerations for the...more
As we enter the 2024 proxy season, we are providing our annual memorandum to call your attention to certain matters of Maryland law, some new and some continuing, relating to proxy materials and annual meetings about which we...more
Pursuant to rules that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued in late 2022, publicly traded companies must generally provide both tabular and narrative and/or graphical disclosure of the relationship between...more
Starting off the new year, consultant Semler Brossy’s latest report analyzes proxy results for 2023 among the S&P 500 and the Russell 3000, including votes on say on pay, environmental and social shareholder proposals,...more