Performance Based Equity Compensation
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) uses peer group data as one input in their analysis of a company’s executive pay program that may ultimately impact their vote recommendation for a company’s “say-on-pay” proposal...more
Are you ever surprised that more companies don’t fail their say-on-pay votes? Say on pay was adopted by the SEC under a Dodd-Frank mandate signed into law against the backdrop of the 2008 financial crisis. The mandate was...more
As boards of directors of public companies prepare for their 2023 annual meetings and, relatedly, consider the voting results from 2022 annual meetings, we are being asked for advice concerning (a) the duties of...more
Shareholder activism has been a significant phenomenon amongst the largest U.S. public companies, with activists of a variety of stripes waging campaigns on a wide range of issues. As such activism has continued to grow, it...more
Our preliminary list of important planning considerations for the 2022 proxy season is set forth below. - Directors’ and Officers’ Questionnaires; Committee Charters - We have identified only a few possible changes...more
For companies knee deep in proxy statement drafting and 2021 executive compensation decisions, we recommend a quick refresher on Glass Lewis’ December 2020 Approach to Executive Compensation in the Context of the COVID-19...more
Glass Lewis announced updates to its United States Proxy Voting Policy Guidelines late November 2020. The 2021 Proxy Voting Policy Guidelines include a variety of changes from the 2020 version, including new provisions...more
This comprehensive report covers trends in stockholder voting at annual meetings in the 2020 proxy season among the technology and life sciences companies included in the Fenwick – Bloomberg Law Silicon Valley 150 List (SV...more
Glass Lewis (“GL”) recently issued its 2020 Proxy Season Review (U.S.) (the “Report”) covering the U.S. 2020 Proxy Season (i.e., January 1, 2020 through June 30, 2020). GL reported on certain 2020 shareholder voting trends...more
Our preliminary list of important planning considerations for the 2021 proxy season is set forth below. Directors’ and Officers’ Questionnaires; Committee Charters - We have identified only a few possible changes to...more
Public companies should consider recent SEC and proxy advisory developments and other perennial executive compensation matters. This Client Alert offers a summary of the key executive compensation related reminders and...more
Institutional Shareholder Services ("ISS") and Glass, Lewis & Co ("Glass Lewis") have both released their updates to their respective Canadian proxy voting guidelines for the 2020 proxy season. The ISS updates apply to...more
Companies preparing for their annual shareholder meetings will need to consider a variety of factors, including new guidance from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and recommendations from Glass, Lewis & Co. (Glass...more
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass, Lewis & Co. (Glass Lewis), the two leading providers of corporate governance research and proxy voting services, have published their updated proxy voting guidelines for...more
Climate Scorecard. At this point, public companies are keenly aware of the growing emphasis shareholders place on companies’ practices in regard to environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) issues. In furtherance of that...more
In this article, representatives of The Conference Board and Rutgers Law School discuss the current phenomenon of director engagement with shareholders. While company managements have long engaged with shareholders at...more
Companies have important decisions to make as they prepare for the 2020 annual meeting and reporting season. We have prepared a checklist of key corporate governance, executive compensation and disclosure matters on which we...more
Proxy advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services (“ISS”) and Glass, Lewis & Co. (“Glass Lewis”) have issued updated proxy voting guidelines for the upcoming 2020 proxy season. Notable policy updates issued by one or...more
Recently, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis released revisions to their respective proxy voting guidelines for 2020. The ISS and Glass Lewis updates applicable to U.S. companies are discussed separately...more
A Canadian legal requirement to present an advisory “Say-on-Pay” shareholder vote—a shareholder vote approving a company’s approach to executive compensation—is potentially on the horizon for certain Canadian public...more
In 2019 Proxy Season Recap and 2020 Trends to Watch from consultant ICR, posted on The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, the author concludes that, although, initially, the changes in...more
Our preliminary list of important planning considerations for the 2020 proxy season is set forth below. Directors’ and Officers’ Questionnaires; Committee Charters - We have identified only a few possible changes to...more
The federal government’s omnibus budget implementation bill (Bill) received royal assent on June 21, 2019, the last sitting day of the House of Commons and Senate before breaking for the summer. Accordingly, certain...more
Significant amendments to the Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA) proposed in the federal government’s omnibus budget implementation bill (Bill) would codify into statute some of the principles relating to directors’...more
When finalizing proxy materials for annual shareholder meetings, companies should consider the following U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules and related SEC staff guidance, as well as stock exchange listing...more