From Distance Meetings to Diversity Reports: 2020 Updates for NY State Businesses
Despite being home to the Silicon Valley, California has not embraced with abandon virtual-only meetings of shareholders. Section 600(e) of the Corporations Code currently does not permit virtual only meetings unless one of...more
The Canadian Securities Administrators (“CSA”) provided initial guidance on virtual shareholder meetings in February 2022 to: (i) assist reporting issuers in fulfilling their obligations under securities legislation; and (ii)...more
As we enter the 2024 proxy season, we are providing our annual memorandum to call your attention to certain matters of Maryland law, some new and some continuing, relating to proxy materials and annual meetings about which we...more
Glass, Lewis & Co (Glass Lewis) and Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) have each released updates to their Canadian proxy voting guidelines for the 2024 proxy season. The Glass Lewis updates apply to shareholder...more
As Maryland public companies begin preparing for their 2024 annual meetings, we recommend that each consider the voting results of its 2023 annual meeting of shareholders. Maintaining awareness of institutional investor and...more
Shareholder engagement is an imperative for every public company. And with the recent adoption of universal proxy cards, 2023 promises to inject fresh uncertainty into how companies think about and approach that engagement....more
Glass, Lewis & Co (Glass Lewis) and Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) have both released updates to their Canadian proxy voting guidelines for the 2023 proxy season. The Glass Lewis updates apply to shareholder...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
As companies finalize materials for annual shareholder meetings, we recommend consideration of the following key requirements and disclosures: SEC proxy filing requirements; website and submission requirements; proxy...more
The enduring COVID-19 pandemic continued to impact corporate governance practices and trends in 2021, while other notable developments, including a surge in shareholder proposals, changes to the proxy rules, and increased...more
The two dominant proxy advisory firms — Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis (GL) — have issued their policy updates for the 2022 proxy season. These updates reflect the continuing trend of institutional...more
On November 17, 2021, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted mandatory universal proxy rules that will apply for all contested director elections, which it had previously proposed in 2016. Under the final...more
On November 17, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted final rules requiring the use of a universal proxy card by all parties in contested elections for directors at shareholder meetings. The rules require...more
Yesterday the SEC approved new proxy rules requiring the use of universal proxy cards by management and shareholders soliciting proxy votes for their candidates in non-exempt director election contests, as well as mandating...more
As expected, the SEC has adopted final rules requiring the use of universal proxy cards in shareholder meetings involving non-exempt contested director elections held after August 31, 2022. In addition, certain amendments...more
Considerations for companies planning for next proxy season should include the following: Risk Factors - ..As discussed in our July 13 post, consider current hot topics, including COVID risks, labor market...more
Once again, it is time to prepare for the proxy and annual report season. There are many issues to take into consideration when crafting required regulatory disclosures in a manner that conveys effective messaging to the...more
As we approach our 11th month of COVID-19 restrictions, the pandemic continues to evolve with new variants, while vaccination efforts move forward at a snail’s pace because of limited supplies in many states. Many hoped for a...more
Holding Your Annual Meeting Virtually—Lessons Learned From 2020 - In light of the circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, it comes as no surprise that there was a dramatic increase in the number of virtual...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 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has amended its rules governing the procedural requirements for submission and resubmission of shareholder proposals to be included in a company’s proxy statement under Rule 14a-8....more
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted U.S. public companies in myriad ways. The fact that the traditional proxy season — the period from April through June when a substantial number of public companies hold their annual meetings...more
UPDATE - After this article was published, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order clarifying this issue. According to the order, due to the coronavirus pandemic, until April 19, 2020, companies...more
On March 19, 2020, Glass Lewis announced that for the duration of the 2020 proxy season, it will "take into account the extenuating circumstance of the COVID-19 pandemic when applying [its] policy on virtual-only shareholder...more
As proxy season and the coronavirus pandemic collide over the next few months, travel restrictions, quarantines and health concerns are complicating many public companies’ plans for their annual stockholder meetings. Many...more