On June 20, 2025, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 2337 ("SB 2337") to impose first-of-its-kind regulation and significant disclosure obligations on proxy advisors, such as ISS and Glass Lewis. SB 2337 aims to...more
6/26/2025
/ Business Advice ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Glass Lewis ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Investment ,
New Legislation ,
Proxy Advisors ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Texas
A Washington federal judge dismissed challenges to Starbucks's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion ("DEI") policies in a strongly worded opinion, making clear that politics don't belong in his courtroom....more
The EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (“CSRD”) requires the most detailed and onerous ESG reporting and disclosures anywhere in the world. All told, it is estimated that more than 50,000 companies, including...more
9/21/2023
/ Air Pollution ,
Biodiversity ,
Climate Change ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Due Diligence ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Parent Corporation ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Sustainability ,
Water
After a record-breaking 2021, deal activity in 2022 dropped by 37%, its largest year-over-year decline since 2001. Facing all the 2022 headwinds, including a difficult and uncertain financing market, the Ukraine war,...more
The enduring COVID-19 pandemic continued to impact corporate governance practices and trends in 2021, while other notable developments, including a surge in shareholder proposals, changes to the proxy rules, and increased...more
2/4/2022
/ Climate Change ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Governance ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Statements ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Risk Management ,
Securities Regulation ,
Shareholder Meetings ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders
The focus on ESG across the business spectrum ramped up over the course of 2021, surpassing several milestones along the way and resulting in a surge of regulatory changes and new initiatives by the end of the year....more
2/2/2022
/ Business Strategies ,
Capital Investments ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
Green Bonds ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Sustainability
TRANSACTIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON 2022 -
What are the trends, risks, and opportunities in 2022?
As dealmakers recover from a record-breaking 2021, we expect another busy year in 2022. While risks in the financing market,...more
1/31/2022
/ Acquisition Agreements ,
Capital Markets ,
Climate Change ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Sales Transactions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financing ,
Foreign Investment ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Merger Agreements ,
Private Equity ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Venture Capital
ESG/DEI will be the leading theme in the upcoming proxy season by a wide margin because of a confluence of events affecting society generally: acceptance in popular and financial media of climate change as an overriding...more
ESG/DEI Frenzy in 2022 -
Investor losses resulting from stock market crashes have driven most major turns in corporate governance. In this century, director independence and audit/accounting assurance came into focus after...more
The Situation: A number of shareholder derivative lawsuits in federal court have been filed seeking to hold directors and officers of major companies accountable for alleged failures to uphold their companies' stated...more
7/20/2021
/ Board of Directors ,
Corporate Governance ,
Derivative Suit ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Forum Selection ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Shareholders
The Investor Advisory Committee of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") recently recommended that the SEC promulgate specific disclosure policies regarding environmental, social, and governance ("ESG") topics...more
Since the introduction of environmental, social, and governance ("ESG") investing, the environmental and governance aspects have garnered significantly more focus. Issues such as climate change (under the "E") and board...more
Uncertainty defined the global M&A market in 2019. Geopolitical and international trade tensions, increased activism, and high valuations slowed M&A activity, as businesses worldwide reassessed risk. Many companies refocused...more
The Situation: BlackRock, the world's largest asset management firm, announced initiatives to make climate change and other sustainability issues a cornerstone of its investment strategy, including plans to increase offerings...more