S&c Critical Insights

Corporate Governance co-heads Marc Treviño and Melissa Sawyer and associate June Hu open a four-part series discussing prevalent shareholder proposal trends from the 2022 proxy season. They outline the significant impact of recent actions by the Securities and Exchange Commission on this proxy season and discuss how SEC rulemaking could affect the 2023 season.   SEC Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14L—which reversed prior SEC guidance and altered the staff’s approach to the ordinary business and economic relevance exclusions—had a significant impact on the submission and voting trends this year. The SEC’s new approach correlated with a significant decrease in the likelihood of companies obtaining no-action relief, as the staff now assesses whether a proposal raises issues with a broad societal impact in determining whether a proposal is excludable.   As a result, shareholder proposals made it to a vote much more frequently this proxy season. Yet the number of passing proposals decreased, as shareholder support for s

: In this episode of S&C’s Critical Insights, Davis Wang and Isaac Wheeler, co-heads of S&C’s Tax Group, are joined by Lauren Boehmke, partner in the Firm’s M&A practice, to discuss the recently enacted Inflation Reduction Act and a few of its key impacts on companies and corporate transactions.   They analyze three key changes introduced by the Act: the corporate minimum tax, the one percent buyback tax and clean energy initiatives.   

In the fourth episode of S&C’s Supreme Court Business Review series, hosts Judd Littleton, Julia Malkina and Morgan Ratner are joined by partners Diane McGimsey and Annie Ostrager to discuss two employment arbitration cases from the past term and their implications for employers. In Viking River Cruises v. Moriana, the Supreme Court held that the Federal Arbitration Act preempts a California Supreme Court ruling insofar as it prohibits bringing certain state law claims to arbitration and reaffirmed that no party can be made to arbitrate a claim without expressly agreeing to do so. In Southwest Airlines Co. v. Saxon, the Court held that certain airline workers, baggage handlers and some of their supervisors, qualify for an exemption under Section 1 of the FAA for workers involved in interstate commerce or the transportation of goods or people.

In this episode of S&C’s Critical Insights, Melissa Sawyer, the Global Head of S&C’s M&A practice, is joined by the Co-Heads of the Firm’s Antitrust group, Renata Hesse and Juan Rodriguez, to discuss recent developments surrounding the vertical merger of Illumina and GRAIL, which make DNA sequencing devices and blood-based tests for cancer screening, respectively.   In the United States, an administrative law judge recently denied the Federal Trade Commission’s request to prohibit the transaction on competition grounds. In Europe,  the European Commission opened a highly publicized suspensory investigation into the transaction, which is seen as a test case for the EC’s recently revised policy on reviewing mergers that do not require mandatory reporting to the EC. The partners discuss these developments and how they might impact M&A deals going forward, especially in the pharmaceutical and tech sectors.

In this episode of S&C’s Critical Insights, Paris partner Olivier de Vilmorin, London partner John Horsfield-Bradbury and London associate Sarah Mishkin discuss the unexpected ways that the European Union’s new ESG laws and regulations may affect U.S. and other non-EU companies. They discuss how the laws will apply to certain companies with EU-listed securities or whose operations in the EU meet certain thresholds.   They also touch on how the new climate-related disclosure requirements proposed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission compare to the new EU laws.

In this episode of S&C’s Critical Insights, Vanessa Blackmore, Kirsten Rodger and Sam Saunders take a look at recent developments in the regulation of ESG-labelled bonds and ESG data and rating services, focusing in particular on recent UK regulatory statements signaling that use of proceeds frameworks are likely to be subject to enhanced regulatory scrutiny. They also touch on ESG developments globally, noting that international businesses are likely to find themselves facing multiple, complex ESG reporting requirements, with the potential for increased regulatory scrutiny and liability for misstatements. 

In the third episode of S&C’s Supreme Court Business Review series, hosts Judd Littleton, Julia Malkina and Morgan Ratner are joined by partner Andrew Finn, the coordinator of S&C’s International Arbitration and Global Dispute Resolution Group, to discuss three arbitration cases that the Supreme Court decided last Term and the key takeaways from those decisions for businesses.

In the second episode of S&C’s Supreme Court Business Review series, hosts Judd Littleton, Julia Malkina and Morgan Ratner are joined by Sharon Cohen Levin, former head of the Money Laundering and Asset Forfeiture Unit in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, to discuss the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Cassirer v. Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation. The decision addresses the correct choice-of-law rule in a dispute between the family of a German Jewish woman who surrendered a painting to the Nazi regime in 1939 to obtain an exit visa and the Spanish museum that currently displays it.  Sharon brings unique insight to this area of law and explains the legal landscape for heirs seeking restitution of property looted as part of severe violations of international law. She also discusses the implications of the Court’s decision for the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act more generally. S&C's Appellate Practice Led by former Acting Solicitor General of the United States

In this episode of S&C Critical Insights, Judd Littleton, Julia Malkina and Morgan Ratner introduce the third annual podcast series accompanying S&C’s Supreme Court Business Review. The Review summarizes the decisions from each Term that are most relevant to business leaders, and offers practical guidance on the implications of those decisions. Judd, Julia and Morgan preview upcoming episodes and discuss two closely watched administrative law decisions from this Term. The first is National Federation of Independent Business v. OSHA, in which the Court considered whether the Occupational Safety and Health Administration had the authority to implement a national COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The second is West Virginia v. EPA, in which the Court considered whether the Environmental Protection Agency had the authority to issue the Clean Power Plan, which established carbon dioxide emissions limits for coal power plants. They also briefly touch on the Court’s decision in American Hospital Association v. Becer

In this episode of S&C’s Critical Insights, Olivier de Vilmorin, Carsten Berrar, Ben Perry and Richard Pollack discuss recent de-SPAC transactions in Europe, highlighting the latest de-SPAC trends in Germany, France and the U.K. They also discussed some of the regulatory uncertainty affecting the SPAC market in the United States.

In this episode of S&C’s Critical Insights, Ryan Logan and Matt Rosenberg discuss recent developments in U.S. privacy law at the state level, including Connecticut’s Act Concerning Personal Data Privacy and Online Monitoring and the Utah Consumer Privacy Act.   Ryan and Matt highlight some key distinctions in these laws, including their scope and applicability, the rights granted to individuals with respect to their personal information, and compliance obligations imposed on companies that collect personal information from individuals in these states.  Finally, they discuss current trends in state privacy laws and possible future developments.   Visit us at www.Sullcrom.com

In this episode of S&C’s Critical Insights, Sarah Payne and Cathy Clarkin discuss greenhouse gas emissions disclosures, an important component of the SEC’s highly anticipated climate-related rule proposals. Sarah and Cathy provide an overview of changes that would occur under the new rules, including the mandated disclosure of Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions, even if the emissions are not material to the company, required disclosures on a gas by gas basis, and perhaps most significantly, the requirement that accelerated filers and large accelerated filers have their Scope 1 and 2 emissions data covered by an attestation report.

In this episode of S&C’s Critical Insights, Jay Clayton and Cathy Clarkin provide an overview of the SEC’s highly anticipated climate-related rule proposals. The newly announced rules would require an expansion to both the breadth and the specificity of climate-related disclosures for both U.S. public companies and foreign private issuers. Jay additionally provides his assessment of the proposed rules, which are a significant departure from the SEC’s traditional materiality-based framework of disclosure and represent a move toward a more prescriptive climate-related disclosure regime.

In this episode of S&C’s Critical Insights, Michelle Chen and June Hu discuss the SEC’s new climate disclosure proposal and its implications for financial institutions.    On March 21, the SEC released a comprehensive proposal to mandate climate-related disclosures in SEC reporting companies’ annual reports and registration statements. Michelle and June discuss aspects of the proposed rules that will likely have particular implications for financial institutions, especially in light of the increasing focus from financial regulators on climate-related financial risks, as well as financial institutions’ other obligations that may affect their overall climate strategy.    Click here to read S&C’s memo on the proposed rules and key implications for financial institutions.   To watch S&C’s webinar on the SEC’s proposed rules and read additional S&C publications on this topic, click here.   Visit us at www.sullcrom.com

On this episode of S&C’s Critical Insights, Stewart Robertson and Andrew Finn discuss the rapidly emerging expropriation and asset seizure risks to foreign companies operating in Russia and around the world.    In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, many multinational companies have announced plans to suspend or otherwise scale back their operations in Russia. Russia’s Parliament is currently considering laws that would allow its government to seize assets of those companies or put them under temporary government management.   Stewart and Andrew explore the practical steps companies can take and consider in preparing for this type of possible action. Visit us at www.Sullcrom.com

In this episode of S&C’s Critical Insights, Katy McArthur and Tony Lewis discuss guidance from the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on complying with U.S. sanctions in connection with virtual assets. The podcast explores the application of OFAC guidance for U.S. and non-U.S. companies and individuals who participate in the virtual currency industry, as well as recent commentary by other U.S. authorities regarding potential “red flags” for the use of virtual currency by those who may be affiliated with sanctioned Russian or Belarusian entities, especially when those entities or agents of those entities may be attempting to evade sanctions.

Mehdi Ansari, co-head of S&C’s Intellectual Property & Technology Transactions Group, introduces the core components of publicity rights, which have become a prominent element in the sports, media, entertainment and consumer products industries.    To learn more about this topic, listen to Mehdi’s full webinar, “Emerging Trends in Publicity Rights.” Mehdi builds on his introduction with an in-depth discussion on topics including post-mortem publicity rights, morals clauses, bankruptcy considerations, international enforcement, and other issues that will affect the future of publicity rights.

In this episode of S&C’s Critical Insights, Steve Peikin, Jeff Scott and Julia Malkina discuss recent trends in private securities litigation. Steve is the head of the Firm’s Securities & Commodities Investigations & Enforcement Practice and former co-director of the SEC’s Enforcement Division. Jeff and Julia are co-leads of the Firm’s Securities Litigation Practice. The podcast explores numerical trends in securities litigation filings during 2021, the Supreme Court’s decision in Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. v. Arkansas Teacher Retirement System, state court proceedings post-Cyan, and other developments.

In this episode of S&C’s Critical Insights, Steve Peikin, Jeff Scott and Julia Malkina discuss developments in the SEC’s enforcement priorities. Steve is the head of the Firm’s Securities & Commodities Investigations & Enforcement Practice and former co-director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. Jeff and Julia are co-leads of the Firm’s Securities Litigation Practice. They offer practical guidance for handling of enforcement investigations in light of the new presidential administration and recent enforcement trends.   Visit us at www.Sullcrom.com

In this episode of S&C’s Critical Insights, Ryan Logan and Daniel Stern discuss privacy considerations that arise when engaging vendors involved in preventing and responding to data breaches. Ryan and Daniel describe the life cycle of an incident, including pre-incident planning, following privacy principles during a breach response and addressing the return or destruction of data at the end of the engagement.   Visit us at www.SullCrom.com