Shareholder proposal rule
Last year, I reported that the stockholders of Fidelity National Financial, Inc. had failed to approve a proposal to convert the corporation from a Delaware to a Nevada corporation. The company has not given up on the...more
On February 12, 2025, the Division of Corporation Finance (Staff) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released new guidance regarding shareholder proposals submitted pursuant to Rule 14a-8 under the Securities...more
For those who use “March Madness” to describe proxy season rather than basketball, they'll immediately know that the “economic relevance” exclusion under Rule 14a-8(i)(5) is something of a lore in the SEC's shareholder...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under the current Trump administration has swiftly adopted a new agenda. Some of the first initiatives dealt with shareholder engagement and shareholder proposals. These...more
On February 12, 2025, the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance (the “Staff”) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) issued Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14M (“SLB 14M”), which rescinds in part...more
Only a short time has elapsed since President Trump named Mark T. Uyeda as Acting Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on January 21, 2025. Already, however, the regulatory climate has shifted significantly...more
As we reported in our Preparing for the 2025 Proxy Season client alert, Glass Lewis announced on February 18, 2025, that it was reviewing its diversity-related voting guidelines “in the face of the U.S. Administration’s...more
In our earlier blog post, we discussed Staff Legal Bulletin 14M (SLB 14M), which rescinded prior Staff Legal Bulletin 14L (SLB 14L). The staff of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) indicated that SLB 14M is...more
In one of its first actions under the new Administration, the SEC staff issued new guidance that largely reinstated older guidance that had supported the ability of public companies to exclude shareholder proposals from their...more
Our Securities Group examines the Securities and Exchange Commission’s new guidance on the “economic relevance” and “ordinary business” exclusions for shareholder proposals....more
In June 2023, then-Commissioner Mark Uyeda (currently, Acting Chair) spoke to the Society for Corporate Governance 2023 National Conference on the topic of shareholder proposals under Rule 14a-8. Alluding to the frequent...more
Public companies navigating the 2025 proxy season just got some breathing room—at least when it comes to excluding certain shareholder proposals. Last week, the Staff of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance—in a...more
On February 12, 2025, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the Commission) Division of Corporation Finance staff (the staff) issued Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14M (SLB 14M) to provide informal guidance on shareholder...more
On February 12, 2025, the Division of Corporation Finance (Staff) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14M (SLB 14M), rescinding Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14L (Nov. 3, 2021)...more
Shareholder activism to further environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals faces intense antitrust scrutiny in the United States. Some members of Congress and state attorneys general claim these efforts may violate the...more
Related to today’s webcast – “Hot Governance and Engagement Proxy Tips You Need to Know” – courtesy of Steve Pantina of Proxy Analytics, here are 2024 proxy season stats through the end of November...more
As we lurch toward the end of the year, it’s a good time to take stock of our lives. But also, it’s kind of nifty to compare where we are with shareholder proposals compared to a decade ago. This 13-page report from ISS...more
Recently, Glass Lewis announced the release of its 2025 U.S. Benchmark Policy Guidelines and guidelines for Shareholder Proposals & ESG-Related Issues that apply across markets. Here are 8 things to know about this year’s...more
Here is our alert penned by Michael Bergmann, Brad Goldberg, Ali Murata, Luci Altman and Michael Mencher about the 2025 voting policy guideline updates from Glass Lewis. Here is an excerpt from the alert...more
You might recall that, in 2023, the National Center for Public Policy Research submitted a shareholder proposal to The Kroger Co., which operates supermarkets, regarding the omission of consideration of “viewpoint” and...more
Public companies can breathe a sigh of relief, at least for now, that the Securities and Exchange Commission's 14a-8 regulatory process for excluding shareholder proposals remains intact....more
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) recently released its “U.S. Shareholder Proposals: A Decade in Motion,” in which it examines trends in shareholder proposals submitted at U.S. companies from July 2014 to June 2024, as...more
Summary of June 2024 Annual General Shareholder Meeting Season Shareholder Proposals - - While the total number of shareholder proposals is comparable to the June 2023 general meeting season, the number of companies...more
Here are a few interesting snippets regarding shareholder proposals and Item 1.05 Form 8-K from this week’s 2024 Proxy Disclosure & 21st Annual Executive Compensation Conferences from CCR Corp. On the panels, the watchword of...more
Last week, Cooley’s Reid Hooper attended the annual meeting of shareholder proposal stakeholders that Corp Fin hosts. Here are a few facts to help you glean some information about these meetings from Reid, who has been an...more