Corporate boards are no stranger to near-term pressures, but these days the pressures are piling as high as they ever have. Geopolitical tensions and supply-chain disruptions; climate change and technological revolutions;...more
8/19/2025
/ Best Practices ,
Board of Directors ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Corporate Strategy ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Risk Management ,
Shareholders ,
Stakeholder Engagement ,
Strategic Planning ,
Sustainability
On June 20, 2025, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 2337 (“SB 2337”), a novel regulation that will require significant disclosure obligations for proxy advisors, such as ISS and Glass Lewis, for their voting...more
7/28/2025
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
First Amendment ,
New Legislation ,
Proxy Advisors ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities Regulation ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders ,
Stakeholder Engagement
On June 26, 2025, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) hosted a roundtable on executive compensation disclosure requirements. As noted in prior Insights, the SEC convened the roundtable to evaluate the...more
7/9/2025
/ Board of Directors ,
CEOs ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Executive Compensation ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Regulation S-K ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rulemaking Process ,
SEC Comment Letter Process ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholders
On June 20, 2025, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 2337 (“SB 2337”), a novel regulation that will require significant disclosure obligations for proxy advisors, such as ISS and Glass Lewis, for their voting...more
7/8/2025
/ Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Glass Lewis ,
Governor Abbott ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
New Legislation ,
Proxy Advisors ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Shareholders ,
Texas
As we previously noted last month, the SEC is hosting a roundtable on the executive compensation disclosure requirements on June 26, 2025. In advance of the roundtable, the SEC has finalized and released a detailed agenda and...more
We have seen, a mere few months into President Trump’s second term, a remarkably transformational set of priorities across the federal government, which have had dramatic impacts on the private sector generally and public...more
6/10/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Board of Directors ,
Corporate Governance ,
Diversity ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Funding ,
Greenwashing ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
International Trade ,
Investors ,
Judicial Authority ,
Proxy Advisors ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Risk Management ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Tortious Interference ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) recently issued a press release announcing that it will host a public roundtable on June 26, 2025, to discuss executive compensation disclosure requirements. The event will...more
On February 12, 2025, the Division of Corporate Finance (the “Staff”) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued new guidance on Rule 14a-8 shareholder proposals, which comes one day after the Staff...more
Companies with forthcoming annual report and proxy statement filings should consult with counsel regarding recent regulatory and legal developments related to diversity, equity and inclusion (“DEI”) initiatives and the...more
1/31/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Board of Directors ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Diversity ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Executive Orders ,
Nasdaq ,
Proxy Season ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trump Administration
With Trump’s impending inauguration, significant shifts in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) policies domestically are expected, as is the overall cultural and corporate mood for ESG. Companies can anticipate a...more
1/16/2025
/ California ,
Climate Change ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenwashing ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Shareholders ,
State Attorneys General ,
Sustainability
On December 11, 2024, in a 9-8 ruling along party lines, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (the “Fifth Circuit”) struck down the Nasdaq board diversity rules issued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission...more
On November 8, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced a settled enforcement action (the “SEC Order”) against Invesco Advisers, Inc. (“Invesco”), an investment advisory firm, for making misleading...more
11/14/2024
/ Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
False Statements ,
Greenwashing ,
Investment ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The first half of 2024 was eventful in the world of environmental, social and governance (“ESG”). Although ESG continued to lose the market tailwinds that have pushed it forward in recent years, regulatory pressures both...more
10/18/2024
/ Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Greenwashing ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Proxy Season ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholders ,
Sustainability
Over the last few months, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) discretely disbanded the Climate and ESG Taskforce (“ESG Task Force”) of its Division of Enforcement. The move follows a wave of recent pushback...more
Episode 43 with guest Jon Solorzano, Vinson & Elkins. Jon Solorzano is a Los Angeles-based attorney who serves as counsel and co-head of the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) task force at the law firm of Vinson &...more
After much anticipation, on March 6, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or the “Commission”) released its Final Rule—The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors—mandating...more
3/29/2024
/ Business Development Companies ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Final Rules ,
Foreign Issuers ,
Form S-8 ,
MD&A Statements ,
PSLRA ,
Regulation S-K ,
Safe Harbors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act
Following a nearly two-year wait, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”) released its Final Rule—The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors—on March 6, 2024. The...more
3/18/2024
/ Administrative Stay ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Final Rules ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Regulation S-X ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
While 2022 showed that the sustainable debt market is not impervious to overall economic slow-down (particularly in the capital markets), 2023 demonstrated its resiliency, even in a high-interest rate market. Notwithstanding...more
3/15/2024
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Debt Financing ,
Documentation ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Green Bonds ,
Green Finance ,
Green Loans ,
Interest Rates ,
Renewable Energy ,
Sustainability
Following a nearly two-year wait, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”) released its Final Rule—The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors—on March 6, 2024. The...more
3/8/2024
/ Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Final Rules ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Regulation S-X ,
Renewable Energy ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
ExxonMobil (“Exxon”) filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas on Sunday, January 21, 2024, seeking a declaratory judgment to exclude a shareholder proposal from its proxy statement...more
Corporate sustainability continues to evolve, and keeping pace in 2024 means confronting five big questions. For proponents of ESG (environmental, social & governance), 2023 might have felt like a big setback. Asset...more
1/4/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Capital Investments ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Greenwashing ,
Popular ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sustainability
Welcome to Vinson & Elkins’ Securities and ESG Updates. Our aim is to provide insights into notable developments in securities reporting and the environmental, social and governance space over the quarter and, where...more
10/13/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
BlackRock ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Clawbacks ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenwashing ,
Insider Trading ,
NYSE ,
Private Funds ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Quarterly Report ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations are playing an increasingly important role in M&A transactions. In any given deal, however, it can be challenging to assess ESG factors, to perform ESG due diligence,...more
On July 12, 2023, Vinson & Elkins counsel Jon Solorzano, former Senior Director, Legal and Corporate Development for The Clorox Company, joined Pam Cone of Amity Advisory for “ESG: Balancing Priorities at the Leadership...more
Shareholder activism ranks among the toughest tests a company can face. Activists strike often and suddenly, with increasingly sophisticated tactics. A formidable campaign can sink a company’s share price, damage its...more