Companies doing business in Texas and California should be aware of the following state law developments, which could affect them....more
7/21/2025
/ CARB ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
New Legislation ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Shareholders
Nevada advanced its quest to challenge Delaware as the go-to state for incorporation on May 30, 2025, when Gov. Joe Lombardo signed significant amendments to the Nevada Revised Statutes that govern corporations there....more
6/5/2025
/ Articles of Incorporation ,
Business Entities ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporations Code ,
Delaware General Corporation Law ,
General Corporation Law ,
Incorporation ,
New Legislation ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Shareholders ,
State of Incorporation
Not to be outdone by Delaware and Texas, the Nevada Senate voted unanimously on May 21, 2025, to adopt Assembly Bill No. 239 (AB 239), which provides for significant amendments to the Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) governing...more
5/29/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Amended Legislation ,
Board of Directors ,
Constitutional Amendment ,
Controlling Stockholders ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporations Code ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Mergers ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Shareholders ,
State Constitutions ,
State of Incorporation
On March 25, Delaware adopted significant amendments to §§ 144 and 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law which aim to provide greater clarity and predictability to corporate fiduciaries in light of certain recent...more
Some proxy advisors and institutional investors have made changes to their diversity policies and mandates, including the following ...more
3/31/2025
/ BlackRock ,
Board of Directors ,
Corporate Governance ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Glass Lewis ,
Institutional Investors ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Proxy Advisors ,
Proxy Voting ,
Shareholders ,
State Street ,
Vanguard
The SEC published updated Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations on the filing of Schedules 13D and 13G/Shareholder Engagement....more
3/28/2025
/ Asset Management ,
CDIs ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Institutional Investors ,
Investment Management ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Schedule 13D ,
Schedule 13G ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholders
On February 17, 2025, Senate Bill No. 21 was introduced in the Delaware State Senate to amend the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL)....more
2/24/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Board of Directors ,
Business Entities ,
Complex Corporate Transactions ,
Controlling Stockholders ,
Corporate Governance ,
Delaware General Corporation Law ,
Directors ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Interested Parties ,
Mergers ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Safe Harbors ,
Shareholder Rights ,
Shareholders
This case stems from the proposed reincorporations of Tripadvisor, Inc. and Liberty TripAdvisor Holdings, Inc. from Delaware to Nevada, which were first presented to the corporations’ respective stockholders for approval in...more
2/7/2025
/ Appeals ,
Board of Directors ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corporate Restructuring ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Delaware ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Entire Fairness Standard ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Securities Litigation ,
Shareholder Approval ,
Shareholders ,
TripAdvisor
Background on Moonshot Award Practices -
In the years leading up to the slowdown in the IPO markets in late 2021, it had become increasingly common for high-growth technology companies to grant large equity incentive...more
On October 10, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission adopted new rules (the Amendments) that amend Regulation 13D-G under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Exchange Act), which provide companies, and the...more
10/17/2023
/ Beneficial Owner ,
Compliance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Investors ,
New Guidance ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Shareholders
1. What is the Pay Versus Performance Rule?
See our Fenwick alert for a high-level overview of the Pay Versus Performance (PvP) Rule. See also the SEC fact sheet and adopting release. Briefly, the PvP Rule adds a new Item...more
Fenwick corporate partner Ran Ben-Tzur recently led a small group discussion, “How can GCs identify, prepare for, and respond to pitfalls on the road to IPO?” at TechGC’s IPO Conference held in San Francisco. Below are some...more
10/5/2022
/ Capital Markets ,
Corporate Governance ,
Early Stage Companies ,
Emerging Growth Companies ,
Emerging Technology Companies ,
Financial Reporting ,
Financial Statements ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Internal Controls ,
PCAOB ,
Shareholders
On June 13, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (1) adopted amendments (the “Amendments”) to the proxy rules related to proxy advisory firms and (2) released proposed rules (“Proposed Rules”) regarding the...more
On February 10, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued a proposal (Proposed rules: Modernization of Beneficial Ownership Reporting) that would amend Regulation 13D-G under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934...more
2/17/2022
/ Amended Regulation ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Capital Markets ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investors ,
Proposed Rules ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholders
On November 3, 2021, the Staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Corporation Finance issued Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14L (the New SLB), which will make it more difficult for companies to exclude social...more
11/10/2021
/ Board of Directors ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Micromanagement ,
New Guidance ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Statements ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Rule 14a-8 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders
Today, shareholders are increasingly demanding corporate accountability on a variety of issues, ranging from compensation and human capital management to governance and board diversity, among others. As a result, most...more
Our last in a series of articles on direct listings noted that we were expecting significant regulatory developments to give companies more flexibility to pursue alternatives to a traditional initial public offering. Those...more
9/1/2020
/ Capital Raising ,
Compliance ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Direct Listing ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investors ,
Lock-Up Agreement ,
Nasdaq ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Offerings ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholders ,
Venture Capital
In the past few weeks, the Nasdaq Stock Market and the New York Stock Exchange, with the approval of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, have approved rules easing certain requirements for listed companies in light...more
Direct Listings: The What, The Why and Common Misconceptions -
Spotify did it. Slack did it. Many other late-stage private technology companies are reported to be seriously considering doing it. Should yours? In this...more
12/6/2019
/ Best Practices ,
Board of Directors ,
Capital Raising ,
Corporate Governance ,
Direct Listing ,
Emerging Technology Companies ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investment Banks ,
Investment Funds ,
Investors ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Shareholders ,
Venture Capital