On August 1, 2024, ISS Governance (ISS) announced the launch of its Annual Benchmark Policy Survey. The survey results will inform ISS’s policy development for 2025 and beyond. For the U.S. market, the survey solicits views on poison pills and executive compensation. In addition, the survey solicits views on global environmental and social topics including climate-related shareholder proposals, disclosure of Scope 3 GHG emissions targets, and shareholder proposals requesting disclosure of workforce diversity metrics.Continue Reading ISS and Glass Lewis Launch Annual Policy Surveys

Last year, we reviewed proxy statements filed by companies in the Silicon Valley 150[1] (SV150) to see whether they included an officer exculpation proposal[2] in their proxy statements for stockholder meetings held from August 1, 2022, through July 31, 2023 (“Year One”). As reflected in our previous post and Client Alert, during Year One, only nine SV150 companies included an officer exculpation proposal in their proxy statements, of which seven passed and two failed.Continue Reading Officer Exculpation and the Silicon Valley 150: Year Two

Our recent Client Alert discusses the extensive and important set of amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law (the DGCL) that will become effective on August 1, 2024. The amendments, which will apply both prospectively and retrospectively, were largely intended to address several recent Delaware Court of Chancery decisions that…

Continue Reading Significant Amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law Are Set to Become Effective

Our recent Client Alert discusses the United States Supreme Court’s long-awaited ruling in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo (Loper Bright), a decision with far-ranging implications for federal administrative law. The Supreme Court’s six-Justice majority held that the Administrative Procedure Act requires courts interpreting agency regulations to determine independently…

Continue Reading “Chevron is overruled”: How Loper Bright Will Change the Regulatory Law Landscape

On July 8, 2024, SEC Chair Gary Gensler announced the release of the SEC’s Spring 2024 Regulatory Agenda (Regulatory Agenda), which outlines the SEC’s planned regulatory actions over the next 12 months. This latest Regulatory Agenda includes a total of 34 rules, with 15 rules at the proposed rulemaking stage and 19 rules at the final rulemaking stage. While the Regulatory Agenda provides insights into Chair Gensler’s priorities (compiled as of May 1, 2024) and the anticipated timing of proposed and final rules, actual rule adoption or proposal timing may vary significantly, and could come before or after the listed dates. The outcome of the 2024 presidential election may also impact timing and priorities.Continue Reading SEC Announces Release of Spring 2024 Regulatory Agenda

Our new client alert discusses the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent holding in Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy that the Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution entitles a defendant to a jury trial when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) seeks civil penalties for securities fraud. As a…

Continue Reading U.S. Supreme Court Holds SEC Cannot Use In-House Proceedings When Seeking Civil Penalties for Securities Fraud

As part of its continuing efforts to clarify the application of the SEC’s rules regarding the disclosure of material cybersecurity incidents,[1] on June 24, 2024, the Division of Corporation (Corp Fin) issued five new Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations (CDIs). All five of the CDIs focus on the materiality determination required under Item 1.05 of Form 8-K and are summarized below. The full text of the CDIs is set forth at the end of this post.Continue Reading Corp Fin Issues CDIs on Cybersecurity Incident Reporting

As questions and commentary continue to arise with respect to the SEC’s rules on disclosure of material cybersecurity incidents, the SEC staff has sought to provide additional guidance on the application of the final cybersecurity disclosure rules.[1] On June 20, 2024, Erik Gerding, the Director of the SEC’s Division…

Continue Reading Corp Fin Issues Additional Guidance Relating to Cybersecurity Incident Disclosure

This recent post on the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance submitted by Wilson Sonsini discusses that the 2024 proxy season, the second year with universal proxy cards, has produced incremental evidence of the effect that universal proxy has had on proxy fights and on advance notice bylaws with…

Continue Reading Developments with Universal Proxy Cards and Advance Notice Bylaws

On May 21, 2024, Erik Gerding, the Director of the Division of Corporation Finance at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), released a statement (statement) on the disclosure of cybersecurity incidents. This statement relates to disclosures made under new Item 1.05 of Form 8-K, which was adopted by the SEC in July 2023,[1] and requires companies to disclose information relating to material cybersecurity incidents within four business days of determining that the incident is material. For more information on the cybersecurity rules, please see our previous Client Alert.Continue Reading Corp Fin Issues Guidance on Disclosure of Cybersecurity Incidents