For United States public companies, the drafting of the proxy statement and its filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are integral parts of preparing for the annual meeting of shareholders.

In 2026, public companies will prepare their proxy statements amid a variety of SEC policy changes regarding

Continue Reading Preparing for the 2026 proxy season

Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass, Lewis & Co. (Glass Lewis), two major proxy advisory firms in the United States, have updated their benchmark proxy voting guidelines for the 2026 proxy season.

These firms provide institutional investors with voting recommendations on key matters such as director elections, executive compensation, corporate

Continue Reading ISS and Glass Lewis release benchmark policy updates for 2026

President Donald Trump has issued an Executive Order 14366, “Protecting American Investors from Foreign-Owned and Politically-Motivated Proxy Advisors,” which could significantly impact the policies and practices of Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass, Lewis & Co. (Glass Lewis), two major proxy advisory firms in the United States.

Released on

Continue Reading Trump Administration issues Executive Order affecting proxy advisory firms: Top points

On November 17, 2025, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s Division of Corporation Finance announced that it would significantly curtail its review of no-action submission requests for the upcoming proxy season (October 1, 2025 –September 30, 2026).  

According to its statement, the SEC staff will not respond

Continue Reading SEC Division of Corporation Finance announces significant change to shareholder proposal no-action process for upcoming proxy season

On October 9, 2025, during a keynote address at the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance’s 25th Anniversary Gala, United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Paul Atkins suggested that the SEC may be amenable to arguments from Delaware-incorporated companies seeking to exclude precatory shareholder proposals from

Continue Reading SEC signals potentially significant changes to Rule 14a-8 shareholder proposal process

On September 4, 2025, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the publication of its Spring 2025 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions, which sets forth its rulemaking priorities for the next several months.

In a statement, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins noted that the agenda represents the

Continue Reading SEC rulemaking agenda focuses on crypto regulation, facilitating capital formation and easing public company reporting burdens

In our earlier blog post, we discussed Staff Legal Bulletin 14M (SLB 14M), which rescinded prior Staff Legal Bulletin 14L (SLB 14L). The staff of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) indicated that SLB 14M is intended to clarify the views of the SEC staff (Staff) on the

Continue Reading Shareholder proposals – the great reset again! (Part 2)

The staff of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rescinded prior Staff Legal Bulletin 14L (SLB 14L) and issued Staff Legal Bulletin 14M (SLB 14M) on February 12, 2025. SLB 14M is intended to clarify the views of the SEC staff (Staff) on the scope and application of Rule

Continue Reading Shareholder proposals – the great reset again!