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
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
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
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 in preparing...more
The Number of Shareholder Proposals Made by Activist Shareholders, Votes Against Management Proposals and Listed Companies Facing Shareholder Proposals Each Continue to Trend Upward in Japan - During the June 2023 annual...more
Notwithstanding legislative and executive action by several states in opposition to the supposed “woke” stances of some businesses on ESG and ESG investing—or perhaps because of it—this proxy season will see a significant...more
Following a brief decline during the pandemic, shareholder activism in the US rebounded to pre-pandemic levels in 2022 despite—or perhaps because of—volatile markets, depressed share prices and macro-economic uncertainty....more
Part I of our two-part series identifies our Public Company Advisory Group's 10 important considerations when preparing Annual Reports on Form 10-K in 2023, organized in two categories: 1. Six Housekeeping Considerations:...more
Public companies need to consider recent developments when preparing for the 2023 proxy and annual reporting season. We summarize key regulatory developments, recent guidance, important disclosure considerations and updates...more
Institutional Shareholder Services ("ISS") and Glass Lewis & Co. LLC ("Glass Lewis"), the two major proxy advisory firms, recently issued their updated proxy voting guidelines for the 2023 proxy season. These policy updates...more
On November 15, 2022, Skadden held a webinar titled “Preparing for the 2023 Shareholder Proposal Season.” The panelists were Gianna McCarthy, Director of Corporate Governance for the New York State Common Retirement Fund (NYS...more
The first half of 2022 illuminated important trends in the corporate governance space. In recent months, there were notable developments in the enforcement of economic sanctions and export control measures, and the oversight...more
Takeaways - ESG activist campaigners are likely to continue asserting themselves. Companies that have merged with SPACs and whose stock prices have slumped will be at risk for activist pressure. Watch for more activist...more
While balance sheet proposals saw a slight downturn, COVID-19 and FEFTA appear not to have dampened shareholders' desire to effect change via AGM proposals....more
In a significant development for ESG and corporate governance, BlackRock is now calling on the public companies it invests in to publish disclosures in line with the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and the...more
On August 21, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued two interpretive releases involving proxy voting and proxy voting advice. In the first release, the SEC provided guidance regarding the responsibilities of...more
In 2018, robust U.S. and global M&A activity substantially mitigated the downside risk for activist investors. With political uncertainty ahead of the 2020 presidential election, unsettled questions on trade and tariffs, and...more
Public companies should consider a number of items for 2019, including recent SEC and proxy advisory developments and other perennial executive compensation considerations. Even as the US government shutdown continues to...more
For governance professionals, the fourth quarter of the fiscal year generally marks the kick-off for the next year’s annual meeting and proxy season. Over the past two years, public companies have seen a sharp rise in...more
In recent years, the friction between public companies and proxy advisory firms—companies that provide proxy vote recommendations to institutional fund managers and other investment advisers—has intensified. Public issuers...more
For those who want to start preparing for the 2019 proxy season, our preliminary list of important considerations is set forth below: Review 162(m) Disclosures in Proxy Statements... ...more
In a telling sign of current events, the SEC staff provided supplemental guidance related to the disclosure of cybersecurity risks and incidents, adding new commentary to its rules regarding disclosure and company controls....more
When finalizing proxy materials for upcoming annual shareholder meetings, we recommend that public companies consider the following requirements under the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules and stock exchange...more
On February 28, 2017, Skadden hosted a webinar titled “Key Trends in Executive Compensation, Employment Law and Compensation Committee Practices.” The Skadden panelists were labor and employment law partner David Schwartz,...more
As shareholders continue to submit proxy access proposals, public companies may wish to consider proxy access and develop a response plan. Many public companies have received shareholder proxy access proposals in...more