Latest Posts › Corporate Governance

Share:

ESG: Key Trends in 2020 and Expectations for 2021

In a tumultuous year, one of the key clear messages to emerge from 2020 was that environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns are here to stay. As mentioned in our 31 July 2020 article “ESG in 2020: A Half-Year...more

US Corporate Governance: The Ascension of ESG

The change in administration is expected to bring a governmental and regulatory climate that is vastly more hospitable to calls to facilitate the incorporation of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into...more

ISS and Glass Lewis Release Updated Proxy Voting Guidelines

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

Nasdaq Proposes New Board Diversity Requirements

On December 1, 2020, the Nasdaq Stock Market filed a proposal with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to amend its listing standards to encourage greater board diversity and enhanced diversity disclosures for...more

Planning Ahead: Virtual Shareholder Meetings in the 2021 Proxy Season

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted U.S. public companies in myriad ways. The fact that the traditional proxy season — the period from April through June when a substantial number of public companies hold their annual meetings...more

A Brief Response Regarding Stakeholder Governance

The recently published “The Friedman Essay and the True Purpose of the Business Corporation” defends a view of stakeholder governance that reflects the following two basic flaws...more

Shareholder Proposal No-Action Requests in the 2020 Proxy Season: Glimmers of Hope for Board Analyses, Limits on Micromanagement

In October 2019, for the third consecutive year, the Staff of the Division of Corporation Finance (Staff) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued guidance concerning companies’ ability to exclude...more

Stockholders Versus Stakeholders — Cutting the Gordian Knot

Directors of most for-profit U.S. corporations have long considered the corporation’s relationships with customers, employees, suppliers and the communities in which they operate — sometimes referred to as “stakeholders” — in...more

Skadden's 2020 Insights

Despite political and economic uncertainties, markets and deal activity were resilient in 2019, and strong fundamentals remain in place heading into 2020. Companies continue to face a challenging litigation and enforcement...more

1/30/2020  /  Acquisitions , Administrative Procedure Act , Anti-Discrimination Policies , Anti-Harassment Policies , Anti-Kickback Statute , Antitrust Investigations , Appeals , Arbitration Awards , Attorney General , Backstop Agreements , BEPS , BitLicense , Blockchain , Board of Directors , Bonds , Capital Markets , CFIUS , CFTC , Chapter 11 , Claim Preclusion , Class Action , Commercial Bankruptcy , Common Stock , Congressional Investigations & Hearings , Congressional Subpoenas , Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) , Cooperation Agreement , Copyright , Corporate Governance , Corporate Restructuring , Corporate Social Responsibility , Corporate Taxes , Corwin Doctrine , Covenant Lite Deals , Creditors , Cross-Border Transactions , DACA , DE Supreme Court , Debt Financing , Debtors , Department of Justice (DOJ) , Dischargeable Debts , Disgorgement , Disparate Impact , Dodd-Frank , Down Rounds , Drug Pricing , EBITDA , Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) , Employer Liability Issues , Employment Discrimination , Enforcement Actions , Enforcement of Foreign Judgments , Enterprise Act 2002 , Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) , EU , Fair Housing Act (FHA) , Federal Trade Commission (FTC) , FinTech , FIRRMA , Foreign Acquisitions , Foreign Investment , Foreign Issuers , FRCP 23 , General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) , General Elections , GILTI tax , High-Yield Markets , Hong Kong , Hong Kong Stock Exchange , Individual Accountability , Initial Public Offering (IPO) , Intellectual Property Litigation , Intercreditor Agreements , International Arbitration , International Litigation , IRS , Issue Preclusion , Japan , Joint Venture , Legislative Agendas , Life Sciences , Listing Rules , Litigation Strategies , Make-Whole Premium , Mergers , MFW , Multinationals , National Security , PCAOB , Pharmaceutical Industry , Political Parties , Preferred Shares , Private Offerings , Privately Held Corporations , Proxy Advisory Firms , Publicly-Traded Companies , Refinancing , Regulatory Agenda , Reporting Requirements , SCOTUS , Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) , Securities Litigation , Separation of Powers , Shareholder Activism , Shareholder Proposals , Shareholders , Split of Authority , State Labor Laws , Stock Drop Litigation , Tax Cuts and Jobs Act , Tax Litigation , Technology Sector , Third-Party Release Agrements , Transparency , UK , UK Brexit , Valuation , White Collar Crimes

US Corporate Governance: From the Frying Pan Into the Fire?

Three significant trends mark the last decade in corporate governance, and they have only accelerated over time: (i) the dismantling of structural provisions that some shareholders believe insulate directors from...more

SEC Proposes Amendments to the Proxy Rules Regarding Shareholder Proposals and Proxy Voting Advice

On November 5, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), by 3-2 votes, issued two releases proposing a number of amendments to the federal proxy rules. The first release proposed changes to certain procedural...more

ISS Proposes Benchmark Policy Changes for 2020

Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS), an influential proxy advisory firm, recently proposed changes to its benchmark voting policies to be applied for upcoming shareholder meetings taking place on or after February...more

Putting to Rest the Debate Between Corporate Social Responsibility and Current Corporate Law

There is an ongoing debate regarding the role of publicly traded for-profit business corporations in addressing the many serious challenges confronting society, including some directly involving nonshareholder corporate...more

Social Responsibility and Enlightened Shareholder Primacy: Views From the Courtroom and Boardroom

There is an ongoing debate about the role that publicly traded for-profit business corporations should play in addressing a broad range of problems confronting our world today. Many issues fall under the ESG label — meaning...more

Skadden's 2019 Insights: US Corporate Governance Turning Up the Heat

U.S. public companies face a wide array of challenges, from greater market volatility and increasing economic and geopolitical uncertainty to disruptive technologies, artificial intelligence, social media and cybersecurity...more

Preparing for the Shareholder Proposal Season

On November 13, 2018, Skadden held our webinar “Preparing for the Shareholder Proposal Season.” The panelists were Peter da Silva Vint, Vice President of BlackRock’s Americas Investment Stewardship Group; Michael Garland,...more

SEC Staff Issues Shareholder Proposal Guidance

On October 23, 2018, the Division of Corporation Finance (Staff) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14J (SLB 14J), which provides important guidance concerning shareholder...more

The Board’s Three ‘C’s’ of Corporate Governance: Composition, Communication and Connection

U.S. companies face a dizzying array of challenges, including from disruptive technologies and cybersecurity threats; economic and geopolitical uncertainties; climate change and evolving sustainability metrics; and questions...more

10 Themes for 2018

Tax reform, shifting international dynamics, Trump administration goals and a potentially strong market for transactions all seem likely to impact business activity in 2018. Below are 10 areas to explore in our 10th annual...more

Matters to Consider for the 2018 Annual Meeting and Reporting Season

Companies have important decisions to make as they prepare for their 2018 annual meeting and reporting season. We have prepared a checklist of key corporate governance, executive compensation and disclosure matters on which...more

Preparing for the Shareholder Proposal Season

On November 16, 2017, Skadden held our webinar “Preparing for the Shareholder Proposal Season.” The panelists were Michael Garland, Assistant Comptroller for Corporate Governance and Responsible Investment in the Office of...more

SEC Staff Issues New Shareholder Proposals Guidance

The Division of Corporation Finance (Staff) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently published Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14I (SLB 14I), which provides important new and timely guidance for companies and...more

Proxy Access: Highlights of the 2017 Proxy Season

As we approach the end of the 2017 proxy season, the third since the New York City comptroller launched the Boardroom Accountability Project to enact proxy access across the U.S. market, proxy access has begun to transition...more

Potential Impact of Financial CHOICE Act on Corporate Governance and SEC Reporting and Disclosure Requirements

On June 8, 2017, the House of Representatives passed, by a 233-186 vote (with all Democrats and one Republican voting against), the Financial CHOICE Act of 2017, a bill principally designed to reverse many features of the...more

90 Results
 / 
View per page
Page: of 4

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
- hide
- hide