Shareholder proposal rule
Welcome to the latest edition of the Sustainability Spotlight, your place to keep up with all the ESG action – federal and state enforcement, shareholder proposals and litigation, and state attorney general actions. This...more
Shareholder activism, in the form of proposals, books and records demands, and litigation, is proving to be an increasingly prevalent tool in challenges to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. This client alert...more
In late July 2023, House Republicans on the Financial Services Committee introduced four bills targeting various business and market activities that implicate environmental, social, and governance issues. In a statement...more
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) matters are now the subject of significantly greater regulatory scrutiny and are becoming a more prominent part of public companies’ mandatory filings, shareholder proposals, and...more
As companies grapple with the business challenges that rising interest rates and an uncertain economic outlook present, there are the inevitable questions about whether companies should worry less about environmental, social...more
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
On November 3, 2021, the staff (“staff”) of the Division of Corporation Finance (“Division”) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) published Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14L which reverses a series of...more
One ESG topic gaining substantial traction in the United States is stakeholder attention to corporate political involvement, which the SEC’s Acting Chair as of the date of this publication said was “key to any discussion of...more
In a speech on March 15, 2021, Allison Herren Lee, Acting Chair of the SEC, reported on the steps the SEC is taking to meet investors’ growing demand for climate and ESG information, stating that “no single issue has been...more
Strong ESG credentials and long-term plans to improve their relationship with society and the environment are increasingly important to ensure companies’ access to capital. Environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters...more
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
As you know, topics related to corporate social responsibility have ascended to the forefront for many stakeholders, and CSR is sometimes viewed to comprise issues related to firearms safety. With the renewed national debate...more
This memorandum outlines considerations for foreign private issuers ("FPIs") in preparation for the 2019 annual reporting season. Part I (pg. 2) provides a summary of certain key trends and insights from the 2018 US proxy...more
The 10-K and proxy season begins in a little over a month for companies with calendar fiscal year-ends. The following governance and disclosure developments should be considered in the course of preparing these filings....more
’Tis the season, and no, we do not mean the holiday season. Although it may seem like you just filed your 2018 proxy, the 2019 proxy season is upon us. This quick reference guide, which is intended to supplement Shearman &...more
A lot has been written about institutional investors’ turn toward issues of corporate social responsibility. One CSR topic that has received a lot of attention in the last few years has been firearms safety. ...more
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
Due to the increasing awareness of the importance of environmental, social, and governance ("ESG") initiatives, the European Commission came forward at the end of May 2018 with a proposal related to this topic. The proposal...more
Recent, seemingly disparate action by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with respect to two shareholder proposals may leave companies and shareholders confused as to whether companies may exclude shareholder...more
In conjunction with the Equilar report, Corporate Governance Outlook 2018, featuring commentary by Hogan Lovells and Donnelley Financial Solutions, this webinar will explore upcoming trends for the 2018 proxy season and...more
On November 1, 2017, the SEC Division of Corporation Finance issued a Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14I (“SLB 14I”), which includes guidance on the scope and application of the “ordinary business” basis for excluding shareholder...more
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - 1. Cybersecurity threats. Cybersecurity preparedness is essential in 2018 as the risk of, and associated adverse impact of, breaches continue to rise. The past year redefined the upward bounds of the...more
Companies who engage with their large institutional shareholders on environmental and social issues during the 2018 proxy season should keep in mind that these investors are facing pressure from other investors on their...more
Corp Fin today posted Staff Legal Bulletin 14H providing guidance on two key issues regarding shareholder proposals under Rule 14a-8: - the scope and application of Rule 14a-8(i)(9) (the exclusion for conflicting...more
You might recall Trinity Wall Street v. Wal-Mart Stores Inc, a case involving a shareholder proposal requesting that Wal-Mart’s board of directors develop a policy regarding the sale of high-capacity firearms, such as the...more