Understanding Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery: A Business Imperative with Clint Palermo
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Navigating Fiduciary Responsibilities in a Tide-Turning ESG Era
ESG Essentials: What You Need To Know Now - Episode 18 - The Reshaping of ESG & DEI
Compliance into the Weeds: More Compliance Challenges in the Trump Era
Podcast — UK FinReg Focus Areas in 2025: Sectoral Trends
Environmental and Sustainability Regulations & the New Administration
Podcast - Beyond Compliance: A Deep Dive into Carbon Markets Fraud and the Government's Response
ESG Essentials: What You Need To Know Now - Episode 17 - The Evolution of ESG Enforcement Under the SEC
Navigating ESG: Preparing for Future Regulations (Part Two) — Regulatory Oversight Podcast
Regulatory Uncertainty: Benefits-Related Legal Challenges in a Post-Chevron World — Troutman Pepper Podcast
Navigating ESG: The Growing Importance and Compliance Challenges (Part One) — Regulatory Oversight Podcast
AGG Talks: Cross-Border Business Podcast - Episode 16: The Political and Legal Maze of ESG in the U.S. and Abroad
Episode 326 -- Dottie Schindlinger on Diligent's Report on Board Oversight of Cybersecurity Risks and Performance
Why ESG Matters?
JONES DAY TALKS®: ESG Reporting Rules: The SEC, CSRD, and California– Who's on the Hook?
ESG Masterclass — Legal Risks Hiding in Your DEIB Programming
Leaning in on AI in Compliance Programs
ESG Masterclass — ESG and Impact Investing
ESG Masterclass — Empowering Women and Girls in Sparking Lasting Change
JONES DAY TALKS®: Court Grants Stay on SEC’s Climate Disclosure Rule, but Companies Should Continue Preparations
Under the current administration, the Department of Labor has once again changed course on its view of permissible investing strategies for retirement plans, warming to crypto and private equity, and confirming their distrust...more
Here’s the short version: the Department of Labor’s decision to reopen the Biden-era ESG rule is overdue—and welcome....more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently announced two significant changes to 401(k) plan investments, signaling an increase in latitude for fiduciaries who wish to make available cryptocurrency investments in their plans...more
As anticipated, the Department of Labor (DOL) recently changed its position with respect to certain investment choices that 401(k) plan fiduciaries sometimes consider or make available to plan participants, including...more
In our recent client alert, “Texas Federal Court Allows an ERISA Fiduciary Challenge Against Alleged “ESG Investing” Without Any ESG Funds,” we reported that a Texas district court recently upheld Biden-administration...more
On May 28, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) provided updated guidance on two employee benefit plan-related investment areas: (1) cryptocurrency and (2) environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) investing....more
On January 10, 2025, in Spence v. American Airlines, a federal district court in Texas ruled that American Airlines (the company) and the committee overseeing its 401(k) plans (the committee) breached their duty of loyalty...more
ISSUES AFFECTING ALL SCHEMES - PENSIONS DASHBOARDS – PREPARATIONS FOR CONNECTION - As part of its campaign to get the pensions industry “dashboards-ready”, the Pensions Regulator (TPR) has released a series of short...more
On this episode of Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion, host Brydon DeWitt is joined by Ken Barnes, vice president of investment consulting at SageView Advisory Group, who discusses the recent federal ruling against American...more
A federal judge in Amarillo, Texas, rejected arguments made by 26 attorneys general in Republican-led states challenging the legitimacy of the Biden Administration’s so-called ESG rule....more
In a recent decision by the U.S. District Court Northern District of Texas, Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk ruled that the U.S. Department of Labor’s 2022 Rule (the 2022 Rule) on environmental, social, and governance (ESG)...more
A New York Appellate court affirmed a dismissal of a fiduciary breach claim against the New York City Employees’ Retirement System, Teachers’ Retirement System of the City of New York, and Board of Education Retirement System...more
Since we last discussed environmental, social, and corporate governance (“ESG”) developments in the context of ERISA retirement plans, ESG litigation has taken a rather unexpected turn. Although the plan lineup in Spence v....more
A February 19 Executive Order, titled “Ensuring Lawful Governance and Implementing the President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Deregulatory Initiative,” is aimed at directing the “Administration to focus the...more
4 Last week, a federal district judge in the Northern District of Texas upheld a rule promulgated by the Biden Administration's Department of Labor enabling ESG-focused investing. Specifically, the court determined that the...more
Even before the 2024 presidential election and the recent wave of executive orders, employers were evaluating their positions on various social issues. Whether taking a formal stand, abstaining from a position, or landing...more
Following a bench trial, on January 10, 2025, Judge Reed O’Connor of the US District Court of the Northern District of Texas held that the managers of a company’s 401(k) retirement plans had breached their fiduciary duty by...more
On January 10th, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas (the court) ruled that American Airlines, Inc. (American) and the American Airlines Employee Benefits Committee (together, the Defendants)...more
On January 10, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas (the “Court”) held, in Spence v. American Airlines, Inc., that American Airlines (“American”) and the American Airlines Employee Benefits...more
The January Monthly Minute highlights a recent Texas court decision holding ESG investing violated ERISA and a new development in the J&J prescription drug case that found plaintiff lacked standing to sue, and also digs into...more
On January 10, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued an opinion in Spence v. Am. Airlines, Inc. (N.D. Tex. Jan. 10, 2025) holding that fiduciaries of two American Airlines 401(k) plans...more
On January 10, 2025, Judge Reed O’Connor of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas ruled, following a four-day bench trial, that an airline breached ERISA fiduciary duties when investing...more
On January 10, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas found that American Airlines and its employee benefit committee (EBC) breached their fiduciary duty of loyalty under the Employee Retirement...more
Last week, Judge Reed O’Connor of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, issued the first-of-its-kind ruling on the merits pertaining to environmental, social, and corporate governance (“ESG”) investing...more
Whether, and the extent to which, a plan fiduciary can consider nonpecuniary environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) objectives in selecting plan investments has been a hot-button issue for many years, with the view on...more