Nearly five months after the so-called “flash crash,” the mystery of the cause of the May 6 market plunge and rapid rebound has apparently been solved, but the reforms to prevent it from happening again are just getting under way. The official cause: A single $4.1 billion trade by a mutual fund to hedge to […]
Melissa Klein Aguilar
Posted inFrom the Archive
SEC Stays Proxy Access Rule Amid Questions on Validity
Corporate America can breathe a sigh of relief—at least for now. The Securities and Exchange Commission has stayed its controversial proxy access rule until a court rules on a petition to have the rule thrown out. The surprise SEC move came in response to a Sept. 29 petition filed by the Business Roundtable and the […]
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Prepping for Proxy Access
While the courts are now weighing the long-expected legal challenge to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s controversial new proxy access rule, lawyers are advising companies to take no chances and begin preparing for its potential effects on director elections during the next proxy season. Nobody expects to see a flood of shareholder nominations when Rule […]
Posted inTechnology
Surveys: Companies Still Struggle With e-Discovery
As the use of smart-phones, tablet computers, and other handheld devices explodes across Corporate America, managing and monitoring that enormous volume of “mobile information” can be a herculean task at the best of times. Add the threats of litigation, swiftly changing technology, and increased regulation, and most compliance programs are left flailing. Three separate surveys […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Post-Skilling, Movement Afoot on Honest Services Fraud
Three months after the Supreme Court significantly narrowed the scope of the honest services fraud statute, a tool relied upon by federal prosecutors to combat all manner of corruption and self-dealing, movement is afoot to expand it again. On Sept. 28, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) introduced the Honest Services Restoration Act, a […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Chamber, BRT Sue to Block SEC Proxy Access Rule
It’s official: As expected, business groups are challenging the controversial Securities and Exchange Commission rule granting shareholders access to corporate proxies to nominate directors. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable filed a petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit asking the court to hold the rule […]
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Reminder: Clock Is Ticking for Making 409A Fixes
Reminder for all employers: Time is running out to check your non-qualified deferred compensation arrangements for 409A compliance and make any required fixes. Corrective amendments and/or actions must be in place by year-end to avoid steep penalties under Section 409A rules governing non-qualified deferred compensation arrangements. Since many fixes may require board and/or participant approval, […]
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Meet Austria’s Anti-Corruption Authority
As part of our occasional series of conversations with compliance executives and others influential in the corporate governance world, this week we talk with Martin Kreutner, head of the transition team and chair of the International Steering Committee for the International Anti-Corruption Academy, a joint initiative by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime […]
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SEC Sets Dodd-Frank Rulemaking Schedule
Corporate compliance departments now have a better sense of when the Securities and Exchange Commission will start pounding out new rules to implement the Dodd-Frank Act. The bottom line: whistleblowing, executive compensation, and derivatives oversight come this fall; broader corporate governance reforms follow early next year; and final adoption for most won’t happen until next […]
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NYSE Corporate Governance Commission Issues Report
A NYSE-sponsored Commission on Corporate Governance has issued its final report, detailing 10 key principles related to the core duties and responsibilities of boards, management, and shareholders in the governance process. The Commission, established in the fall of 2009, is led by Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Chairman Larry Sonsini and includes dozens of names […]