On December 15, 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed several amendments and new disclosure requirements intended to address what it perceives as potentially abusive practices engaged in by public...more
12/23/2021
/ 10b5-1 Plans ,
Comment Period ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreign Private Issuers ,
Insider Trading ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Public Comment ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stock Repurchases
In preparation for 2022, reporting companies should be aware of the SEC filing deadlines and financial statement “staleness” dates that will apply to them, as well as recent regulatory reforms that may affect the preparation...more
Companies have important decisions to make as they prepare for the 2022 annual meeting and reporting season.
We have compiled this overview of key issues — including SEC disclosure requirements, recent SEC guidance,...more
12/8/2021
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Executive Compensation ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Insider Trading ,
MD&A Statements ,
Proxy Advisors ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals
On December 2, 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted final amendments implementing the disclosure and submission requirements of the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (HFCA Act). In addition,...more
On November 17, 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), by a 3-2 vote, proposed amendments to the rules governing proxy voting advice businesses (proxy advisors). The amendments would rescind two portions of...more
On November 17, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments to the proxy rules mandating the use of universal proxy cards in contested elections. The new rules require both companies and dissidents...more
On November 5, 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s (PCAOB) Rule 6100 — Board Determinations Under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act....more
On November 3, 2021, the Division of Corporation Finance (Staff) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14L (SLB 14L), which explicitly rescinds Staff Legal Bulletin Nos. 14I,...more
On August 6, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the Nasdaq Stock Market’s (Nasdaq) proposal to amend its listing standards to encourage greater board diversity and to require board diversity...more
As anticipated, the staff in the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance has begun issuing detailed comments regarding climate-related disclosures.1 In February 2021, then Acting SEC Chair Allison Herren Lee announced that she...more
On August 30, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that eight broker-dealers and/or investment advisers will pay civil monetary penalties to resolve enforcement actions arising from cybersecurity...more
9/3/2021
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Investment Adviser ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Regulation S-P ,
Safeguards Rule ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SolarWinds
On August 19, 2021, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) filed an immediately effective rule change (Rule Proposal) restoring a transaction value and materiality threshold for related party transactions that require independent...more
8/26/2021
/ Audit Committee ,
Board of Directors ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Independent Directors ,
Listed Company Manual ,
Listing Standards ,
NYSE ,
Proposed Rules ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act
On August 6, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved1 the Nasdaq Stock Market’s (Nasdaq) proposal to amend its listing standards to encourage greater board diversity and to require board diversity...more
In prepared remarks on July 28, 2021, Chair Gary Gensler of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) set forth key considerations for the staff to address in the SEC’s forthcoming rulemaking proposal on mandatory climate...more
In prepared remarks on June 23, 2021, Chair Gary Gensler of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) provided additional insight into the commission’s recently announced regulatory agenda and its shift in priorities. His...more
7/7/2021
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Executive Compensation ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Form S-8 ,
Proxy Season ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rule 701 ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)
Recently, many of our clients have received similar requests from the staff of the SEC's Division of Enforcement related to the December 2020 SolarWinds cyberattack. We confirmed with the SEC staff that the request is...more
6/23/2021
/ Amnesty ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Security ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Insider Trading ,
Internal Controls ,
Regulation FD ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
SolarWinds
On June 7, 2021, in prepared remarks for the CFO Network Summit, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler identified several areas of focus for SEC staff with respect to Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities...more
On May 19, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved Nasdaq’s proposal to permit companies to issue shares and raise capital in primary direct listings conducted on the Nasdaq Global Select Market without...more
As a reminder, conflict minerals disclosures on Forms SD are required to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) no later than June 1, 2021.
The conflict minerals disclosure rules and related guidance...more
During his Senate confirmation hearing for chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler said he would adhere to the U.S. Supreme Court’s view of materiality: Information is material (and should...more
When finalizing proxy materials for annual shareholder meetings, companies should consider the following Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules and related guidance, as well as stock exchange listing standards and...more
On December 22, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved a proposal by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) that allows companies going public via a direct listing to issue new shares and raise capital...more
On December 22, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed to amend Rule 144 to revise the holding period determination for securities acquired upon conversion or exchange of certain “market adjustable...more
In preparation for 2021, reporting companies should be aware of the SEC filing deadlines and financial statement "staleness" dates that will apply to them, as well as recent regulatory reforms that may affect the preparation...more
Proxy advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis recently announced updates to their proxy voting guidelines for the 2021 proxy season. These updates reflect institutional investors’ increased...more
12/14/2020
/ Board of Directors ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Diversity ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Glass Lewis ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)