On Demand, On Purpose: Fashion Manufacturing That Doesn’t Cost the Earth
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
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
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
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
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 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, 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
On January 10, 2025, Judge Reed O’Connor of the Northern District of Texas issued a much-anticipated ruling in Spence v. American Airlines, Inc., which marks the first time that a federal judge has written an on-the-merits...more
Following a bench trial, Judge O'Connor (N.D. Tex.) held that “that Defendants breached their fiduciary duty by failing to loyally act solely in the retirement plan's best financial interests by allowing their corporate...more
A recent summary judgment decision from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas in an ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act) class action challenging the alleged impact of environmental, social,...more
Case Name and Number: Spence v. American Airlines, Inc., et al., No. 4:23-cv-00552 - INTRODUCTION - On June 20, 2024, Judge Reed O’Connor in the Northern District of Texas (the “court”) denied a motion for summary...more
Case Name and Number: Spence v. American Airlines, Inc., et al., No. 4:23-cv-00552 - Introduction - On February 21, 2024, Judge Reed O’Connor in the Northern District of Texas (the “Court”) denied a motion to dismiss an...more
A Texas federal judge recently permitted an environmental, social, and governance- (ESG) related Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) case filed by an airline pilot against his employer and its benefits plan to...more
In August 2023, American Airlines, Inc. moved to dismiss a class action lawsuit filed against the airline for allegedly jeopardizing employees’ retirement savings by investing in environmental, social and governance (ESG)...more
Republicans at the state and federal levels are challenging a Biden administration rule (the "Rule") intended to walk back Trump-era regulations restricting the ability of retirement fund managers to consider climate change...more
If your Department of Labor (DOL) proposes a rule, as President, you’re not likely to throw them under the bus and overrule them. In a move that surprised no one, President Joe Biden used his first veto to preserve a...more
On Jan. 26, 2023, twenty-four states sued the Department of Labor to block a new rule allowing retirement plans to consider environmental, social, and governance concepts (known as ESG) when administering plan assets. The...more
My wife forwarded me an op-ed piece, criticizing the Biden administration rule change on ESG investments in 401(k) plans. Obviously, the person writing it doesn’t understand how 401(k) plans work. ...more
Last year the Department of Labor (“DOL”) proposed changes to ERISA regulations that govern the consideration of environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) factors in retirement plans, as well as fiduciary...more