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
Only a short time has elapsed since President Trump named Mark T. Uyeda as Acting Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on January 21, 2025. Already, however, the regulatory climate has shifted significantly...more
When finalizing proxy materials for annual shareholder meetings, we recommend that companies consider the recent changes to proxy disclosure requirements and other disclosure trends summarized in our December 11, 2024, client...more
As we reported in our Preparing for the 2025 Proxy Season client alert, Glass Lewis announced on February 18, 2025, that it was reviewing its diversity-related voting guidelines “in the face of the U.S. Administration’s...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
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis, two leading proxy advisory firms, recently announced updates to their U.S. proxy voting policies in advance of the 2025 proxy and annual meeting season. Public...more
Welcome to the Corporate Briefing, where we review the latest developments in UK corporate law that you need to know about. In this month’s issue we discuss...more
In preparation for the upcoming 2025 proxy season, issuers should familiarize themselves with the updated Canadian proxy voting guidelines recently published by Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS) and Glass, Lewis &...more
In anticipation of the upcoming reporting season, this Update highlights some of the most significant rule changes, guidance, institutional investor areas of focus, and trends for public companies to consider while preparing...more
In yesterday's post, I discussed Tuli v. Specialty Surgical Center of Thousand Oaks, LLC, 2024 WL 4499271 (Oct. 16, 2024) and whether alleged personal animosity vitiated application of the business judgment rule to the...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
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
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
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
It has never been more important for public companies to engage—and engage regularly—with their shareholders. Sustained engagement helps companies communicate their strategy, understand shareholder perspectives, and even...more
For two decades, Fenwick has reported on corporate governance statistics and trends among the S&P 100 and Silicon Valley’s top public companies (Fenwick – Bloomberg Law Silicon Valley 150 List), with the goal of educating...more
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis, the leading proxy voting advisory firms in the United States, have announced updates and clarifications for their voting guidelines for the U.S. market for the 2024...more
On December 19, 2023, ISS Governance announced updates to its 2024 benchmark proxy voting policies. The full text of the updated benchmark policies for 2024 should be available later this month and will generally apply to...more
Broadly considered, stockholder activism has been a significant phenomenon among the largest U.S. public companies, with activists of a variety of stripes waging campaigns on a wide range of issues including in the form of...more
On August 29, 2023, Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS) announced the launch of its Annual Benchmark Policy Survey. The survey results will inform ISS’s policy development for 2024 and beyond....more
With the 2023 proxy season now over for most companies, we took a fresh look at recent bylaw and charter amendments at the Silicon Valley 150 (the SV150) to better understand how companies are addressing i) new Rule 14a-19,...more
Shareholder meetings held this year are subject to new rules that require both companies and activist shareholders to use “universal” proxy cards in contested board elections. Until now, the company and the dissident...more