From Distance Meetings to Diversity Reports: 2020 Updates for NY State Businesses
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 Mexican Senate, on Sept. 12, 2023, unanimously approved the draft Decree reforming several provisions of the General Law of Commercial Companies (Ley General de Sociedades Mercantiles or LGSM). By virtue of this reform,...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
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
As COVID-19 rages on, companies are again flocking to virtual annual meetings for the 2021 proxy season, but with one important difference: the luxury of time. Many companies are already exploring retention of virtual annual...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
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
April, May and June are typically the most popular months for public companies to host their annual meetings of shareholders. This year, the unprecedented public health concern resulting from the coronavirus or COVID-19...more
Across the globe, the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) is causing governments, companies, associations and colleges and universities to take unprecedented steps to address the spread and transmission of COVID-19. These steps...more
As mentioned in yesterday's post, Nevada recently enacted a bill making several changes to its corporation and limited-liability company laws. One of these changes was to the quorum requirement for stockholder meetings in NRS...more
"Adjourn" is derived from the Latin words "ad" and "diurnus", meaning "to" and "daily" (a diurnal flower opens only during the day). The word came into the English language through Old French "ajorner" ("soup du jour" is the...more
The Virginia General Assembly recently enacted legislation to expand access to virtual-only meetings of corporations. Effective July 1, 2018, Virginia nonstock corporations have the option to hold their meetings of members...more
Amendments to the Washington Business Corporation Act (WBCA) that allow Washington corporations to hold “virtual” shareholder meetings became effective in June 2018. Prior to these amendments, Washington corporations could...more
ISS has announced its policy updates for 2017 shareholder meetings. Significant corporate governance policy changes include negative voting recommendations for companies that restrict shareholders’ ability to amend the...more
UCLA Professor Stephen Bainbridge asked the following question concerning advance notice bylaw provisions in “The Professor is Stumped: Today’s Corporate Law Question“...more
Rhonda Brauer is a senior managing director of corporate governance at Georgeson Inc. where she helps companies enhance their shareholder communications and analyze their governance practices. She recently joined Latham &...more
In Hill International, Inc. v. Opportunity Partners L.P., No. 305, 2015, 2015 WL 4035069 (Del. July 2, 2015), the Delaware Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Chancery’s grant of injunctive relief as it recognized the...more
The 78th Session of the Nevada Legislature made a number of changes to provisions of Title 7 of the Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) governing business entities, including corporations, limited liability companies and limited...more
Yesterday’s post concerned waivers of notice of shareholders’ meetings under Section 602 of the California Corporations Code. Although not required to do so, corporate bylaws often parrot the statute. One popular guidebook,...more