Shareholder proposal rule
Class Action Trends – Interview with Stephen Gulotta, Managing Member, Mintz Levin's New York Office
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
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 may exclude their...more
When we last checked in on the ExxonMobil litigation against Arjuna Capital, LLC and Follow This—in which Exxon sought a declaratory judgment that it may exclude the two defendants’ proposal from its 2024 annual meeting proxy...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
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 you know, the shareholder primacy theory is widely attributed to the Chicago school of economists, beginning in the 1970s, with economist Milton Friedman famously arguing that the only “social responsibility of business is...more
You remember that, in January, ExxonMobil filed a lawsuit against Arjuna Capital, LLC and Follow This, two proponents of a climate-related shareholder proposal submitted to Exxon, seeking a declaratory judgment that it may...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
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
Corp Fin has announced a new intake system for requests from companies for no-action positions from the staff regarding companies’ intentions to exclude shareholder proposals under Rule 14a-8. In the announcement, Corp Fin...more
In August 2023, following this year’s proxy voting season, two of the world’s largest asset managers published their voting records, which revealed that their support for environmental and social shareholder resolutions had...more
Although it may seem early, it is already time to start preparing for the 2024 proxy and annual report season. Additional time may be required this year because of the substantial scope and pace of relevant changes in law 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
In recent years, there has been a steady increase in shareholder proposals that target a public company’s ESG commitments, including diversity and inclusion data, environmental or emission programs, and community engagement....more
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) matters are now the subject of significantly greater regulatory scrutiny and are becoming a more prominent part of public companies’ mandatory filings, shareholder proposals, and...more
The 2023 proxy season is just around the corner. This quick reference guide, which is intended to supplement Shearman & Sterling’s 20th Annual Corporate Governance & Executive Compensation Survey, summarizes themes from the...more
On July 14, 2022, the SEC voted 3-2 to propose a rule adopting amendments to Rule 14a-8 (the Proposed Amendments), which requires companies subject to the federal proxy rules to include certain shareholder proposals in...more
On July 13, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed rule changes that would make it harder for reporting companies to exclude shareholder proposals from their proxy statement by narrowing certain existing...more
Our Securities Group discusses how the Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposed changes to Rule 14a-8 would restrict companies’ ability to rely on the rule to exclude shareholder proposals....more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed amendments to Rule 14a-8 that revise three of the thirteen existing bases for the exclusion of shareholder proposals from a publicly traded company’s proxy statement...more
On July 13, 2022, by a 3-2 party-line vote, the SEC proposed amendments to Rule 14a-8 to modify three of the existing bases for the exclusion of shareholder proposals from a company’s proxy statement, namely: ,,The...more
On July 13, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released a proposed rule that would amend 17 CFR 240.14a-8 (Rule 14a-8) to revise three of the bases for excluding shareholder proposals from a company’s proxy...more
On July 13, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) proposed revisions to Rule 14a-8 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to amend certain substantive bases on which U.S. public companies can exclude...more
Over the better part of two decades, the SEC has been narrowing the bases for excluding shareholder proposals, resulting in greater access to proxy statements for shareholders to force a vote on a wide array of topics,...more
The US Securities and Exchange Commission on July 13 proposed amendments to the shareholder proposal rule, which governs the process for including or excluding a shareholder proposal in a company’s proxy statement....more