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
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
In a move that perhaps comes as no surprise, on March 27, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “the Commission”) issued Press Release 2025-58 announcing it had voted to end its defense of its climate-related...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
In early March 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) finalized its climate-related disclosures rule (The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors) (the “Final Rule”)....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 16, 2024, the California Air Resources Board (“CARB”) released a notice soliciting comments on a number of specific questions to inform its implementation of the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act (“CCDAA”...more
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 14, 2024, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the SEC’s ability to intervene in shareholder proposals under Rule 14a-8 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Rule 14a-8...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)
On November 5, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California denied a motion for summary judgment that sought to declare SB 253 and SB 261 (the “California Climate Laws”) invalid on their face under the...more
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
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)
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
The SEC announced on November 22, 2023, an order staying its share repurchase disclosure rule pending further SEC action. Companies therefore do not need to comply with the rule’s previous compliance date subject to further...more
On October 25, a panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals (the “Fifth Circuit”) upheld the Nasdaq board diversity rule in the face of challenges that (among other things) the rule attempted to improperly and...more
11/7/2023
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Affirmative Action ,
Board of Directors ,
Diversity ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Investors ,
Minorities ,
Nasdaq ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College
On October 10, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) adopted amendments to the rules governing beneficial ownership1 reporting under Sections 13(d) and 13(g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the...more
10/17/2023
/ Beneficial Owner ,
Brokers ,
Derivatives ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Investment Adviser ,
New Rules ,
Passive Investments ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Schedule 13D ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act
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)
As public companies anticipate the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) final climate disclosure rules, which are expected to be released sometime fourth quarter of 2023, California has beaten the federal government...more
As public companies anticipate the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) final climate disclosure rules, which are expected to be released sometime fourth quarter of 2023, California has beaten the federal government...more
9/28/2023
/ California ,
CARB ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Department of Insurance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)