Episode 335 -- The New DOJ Whistleblower Program
Navigating Emerging Privacy Issues in Financial Services — The Consumer Finance Podcast
Implications of the SEC Cybersecurity Disclosure Rule
Corruption, Crime and Compliance: SEC Suffers Dismissal of Claims in Solarwinds Securities Fraud Case
Episode 334 -- District Court Dismisses Bulk of SEC Claims Against Solarwinds
The Woody Report: The Solar Winds Dismissal
In That Case: Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy
Corruption, Crime and Compliance: Deep Dive into The SEC’s Settlement with R&R Donnelly on Cybersecurity Controls
Episode 332 -- Deep Dive into SEC’s Internal Controls and Cybersecurity Settlement with R&R Donnelly
The Justice Insiders Podcast: Jarkesy’s Implications for the Administrative State
DE Under 3: OFCCP Must Shut Down its Administrative Court Prosecutions as a Result of SCOTUS’ SEC Jury Trial Case Decision
Dogecoin’s Day in Court
Unpacking the Lummis-Gillibrand Payment Stablecoin Act: Implications for the Digital Asset Industry — The Crypto Exchange Podcast
Podcast: Is Cryptocurrency a Security (like an orange grove)?
Navigating the Regulatory Waters: The SEC's Wells Notice to Uniswap and its Impact on DeFi — The Crypto Exchange Podcast
Will Resiliency Carry the Digital Asset Sector Through 2024: Federal Legislative Developments and OFAC Consent Orders — The Crypto Exchange Podcast
Compliance into the Weeds: The WACKO Enforcement Action Involving BF Borgers
Meeting the Proposed SEC Climate Disclosure Requirements
Understanding the Whistleblower Pilot Program in the Southern District of New York
2 Gurus Talk Compliance: Episode 26 – The Compliance Week Wrap Up Edition
In 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted final rules that made it easier for shareholders, including activists who may not have the company’s long-term interests in mind, to put dissident directors on a...more
Closed-end investment companies registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act"), have proven to be a product sought by many investors, especially individuals. Despite their appeal to long-term...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld a ruling of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York that invalidates control share bylaw provisions adopted by certain closed-end funds organized...more
On June 1, 2023, the United States Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion that makes it more difficult for shareholders to bring Section 11 claims against companies that go public via direct listings. The case involved a...more
A multitude of questions over who must approve the grant of equity awards frequently arise when designing equity compensation programs. Do shareholders need to approve the grant? Is approval from the Board of Directors...more
As the 2023 proxy season winds down for calendar year companies, it is a good time to consider possible bylaw and charter amendments to address recent developments with respect to universal proxy, shareholder activism and...more
The en banc Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a shareholder derivative action in light of an exclusive-forum bylaw requiring assertion of derivative claims in the Delaware Court of Chancery,...more
In this issue, we cover regulatory developments impacting the investment management sector, including updates on closed-end fund activism and various new and revised SEC rules....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
Shareholder activism continued unabated in 2022 and we see very little to suggest that will change in 2023. Overall, the number of activist campaigns were up 36% in 2022. However, activists continue to struggle to...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) new universal proxy rules, which took effect for meetings after August 31, 2022, require the use of “universal” proxy cards in all director election contests, except for...more
As discussed in our November 17, 2021 post, management of public companies are required to use universal proxy cards for shareholder meetings involving most election contests held after August 31, 2022. This means that both...more
Northern District of California Validates SEC’s “Shadow Trading” Theory of Insider Trading Liability; Seventh Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Stockholder Derivative Suit Against Boeing Based on Forum-Selection Bylaw; Delaware...more
A recent Seventh Circuit decision in Seafarers Pension Plan v. Bradway may complicate defendants’ ability to use forum-selection bylaws as a basis for dismissal of derivative suits pleading claims under the Securities...more
Recently, some companies have taken the position that they do not have a principal executive office in their filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. I noticed, for example, that the Form 8-K filed by Activision...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held on Friday, January 7, 2022, that a district court erred in holding that Boeing Corporation could use its Delaware forum selection bylaw to force a shareholder derivative...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved mandatory “universal proxy” on November 17, 2021. The final rules will apply to contested director elections at shareholder meetings held after August 31, 2022. The...more
The Situation: In response in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Delaware legislature amended the Delaware General Corporation Law to address emergency bylaws and related powers exercised by a corporation's board of...more
With annual reports on Form 10-K publicly filed and first quarter earnings releases getting underway, proxy season – the annual practice of filing and distributing proxy statements, reserving meeting venues and courting...more
The novel coronavirus, COVID-19, is impacting every aspect of doing business, and annual meetings of shareholders are no exception. Each corporation is required by state corporation law, and usually its own bylaws, to hold...more
This issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between October 2019 and January 2020. ...more
As social distancing policies and mandates continue to take hold across the country, companies are grappling to understand the implications of these measures on their business. One compliance issue to resolve is that...more
In response to developments related to COVID-19, the Securities and Exchange Commission has issued new guidance (available here) to assist public companies, investment companies, shareholders, and other market participants...more
I live and work in the Seattle area. As a result of COVID-19, school districts are now closed for 6 weeks, Seattle public libraries are closed for a month, a number of restaurants have closed for the time being and my beloved...more
In a previous blog post, we discussed the availability of virtual shareholder meetings (i.e., “virtual-only” and “hybrid” meetings) as a potential alternative to the traditional in-person meeting during the 2020 proxy season...more