What Justice Kavanaugh’s “Lorenzo” Dissent Means for the Future of Chevron Deference

By Matthew C. Turk and Karen E. Woody November 21, 2018 by renholding

On June 18, 2018, the Supreme Court granted cert in Lorenzo v. Securities and Exchange Commission (Lorenzo), a case that presents significant questions about the federal securities laws. Lorenzo also comes with a twist: The underlying D.C. Circuit decision …

SEC Divisions Set Forth Views on Issuing and Trading Digital Asset Securities

By Securities and Exchange Commission November 21, 2018 by renholding

In recent years, we have seen significant advances in technologies – including blockchain and other distributed ledger technologies – that impact our securities markets. This statement[1] highlights several recent Commission enforcement actions involving the intersection of long-standing applications of …

Corporate Charitable Foundations, Executive Entrenchment, and Shareholder Distributions

By Nicolas Duquette and Eric Ohrn November 20, 2018 by renholding

Why do for-profit corporations have charitable foundations? Charitable foundations are burdensome to create, costly to administer, may be constrained by payout requirements and excise taxes, and are not necessary for corporations to make charitable donations. Yet as of 2013, 203 …

Debevoise & Plimpton Discusses CFIUS Pilot Program Aimed at Technology

By Jeffrey P. Cunard November 20, 2018 by abirvarma

On November 10, the U.S. government’s pilot program regulations aimed at monitoring and controlling foreign investment in certain “critical technologies” became effective. How might the program, which follows on the recent statutory expansion of CFIUS review, affect tech companies’ ability …

Dual Class Stock: The Shades of Sunset

By John C. Coffee, Jr. November 19, 2018 by renholding

The most important issue in corporate governance today is dual class capitalization, and the most important recent development is the petition submitted on October 24, 2018 by the Council of Institutional Investors (“CII”) to both the New York Stock Exchange …

Paul Weiss Offers M&A at a Glance for October 2018

By Matthew W. Abbott, Scott A. Barshay, Angelo Bonvino, Ariel J. Deckelbaum, Jeffrey D. Marell and Taurie M. Zeitzer November 19, 2018 by renholding

M&A activity in October 2018 remained mixed, but included more positive indicators compared to September and the general declining trend line so far this year. Deal volume by dollar value[1] significantly increased overall, by 98.2% to $154.56 billion in …

SEC Chair Clayton Offers Remarks at Proxy Roundtable

By Jay Clayton November 16, 2018 by renholding

My fellow Commissioners and I have agreed to keep our remarks brief so we can move forward promptly with this important program. I am going to highlight four items.

First, thank you to Bill, Michele Anderson and staff from the

…

SEC Commissioner Roisman Offers Remarks at Proxy Roundtable

By Elad L. Roisman November 16, 2018 by renholding

Good morning and thank you to the Divisions of Corporation Finance and Investment Management for organizing this roundtable. I hope that everyone here will take this opportunity to engage in a thoughtful, meaningful discussion on the proxy process. If the …

SEC Commissioner Stein’s Opening Remarks at Proxy Process Roundtable

By Kara M. Stein November 16, 2018 by renholding

Good morning. Welcome to the SEC staff’s roundtable on proxy process. I would like to start by thanking Chairman Clayton for asking the staff to host a roundtable on this very important topic. I would also like to thank Michele

…

The Operating Returns to Acquired Intangible Assets

By John M. McInnis and Brian Monsen November 15, 2018 by renholding

Accounting rule makers have long debated whether companies should recognize intangible assets on their balance sheets. At the heart of this debate is whether recognized values can predict future income and cash flows, or whether the high degree of measurement …

Investor-Paid Credit Ratings and Conflicts of Interest

By Leo Tang, Marietta Peytcheva and Pei Li November 14, 2018 by renholding

Credit ratings provide information regarding a company’s default probability. Ratings are relied upon extensively in regulation and private contracting and play a crucial role in the functioning of the capital markets. However, since the major credit rating agencies (CRAs) operate …

Skadden Discusses How Companies Can Prepare for U.S. House Investigations

By Margaret E. Krawiec, David B. Leland and Ivan A. Schlager November 14, 2018 by pss2150

For the past several years, Republican majorities in the House of Representatives and Senate have dictated the agenda of Congress. But Democrats will take control of the House in January 2019, thereby regaining the ability to control committee and subcommittee …

Short and Distort

By Joshua Mitts November 13, 2018 by renholding

Anonymous political speech has a celebrated history (Publius, 1787) and has long enjoyed strong protections under the U.S. Constitution.[1] But there is a dark side to pseudonymity: Fictitious identities can wreak havoc in financial markets. A large literature in …

Simpson Thacher Discusses SEC Clarifications of Shareholder Proposal Issues

By Karen Hsu Kelley and Shari Ness November 13, 2018 by pss2150

On October 23, 2018, the Division of Corporation Finance of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) issued new Staff Legal Bulletin 14J[1], following up on previous bulletins clarifying issues arising under Exchange Act Rule 14a-8. The new …

The Identity Challenge in Finance

By Douglas W. Arner, Dirk A. Zetzsche, Ross P. Buckley and Janos N. Barberis November 12, 2018 by renholding

Identity is fundamental in finance. At a time when huge TechFins like Amazon are making inroads into the financial services industry, major questions are arising as to the most effective methods of customer identification and meeting Know Your Customer obligations …

Cleary Gottlieb Discusses Updates to Proxy Adviser Guidelines

By Michael Albano, Julia M. Rozenblit and Emily Barry November 12, 2018 by renholding

As 2018 draws to a close, both Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (“ISS”) and Glass Lewis are in the process of updating their 2019 proxy voting guidelines.

In mid-October, ISS launched its 2019 benchmark voting policy consultation period, pursuant to which …

The Transatlantic Debate over Shareholder Rights

By Maria Lucia Passador November 9, 2018 by renholding

Effective and sustainable shareholder engagement is a cornerstone of the corporate governance model of listed companies, which is based on a system of checks and balances among boards, management, and stakeholders. Enhancing the involvement of shareholders in corporate governance is …

ISS Comments for the SEC Staff Roundtable on the Proxy Process

By Gary Retelny November 9, 2018 by renholding

Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS) appreciates the opportunity to comment in advance of the SEC Staff Roundtable on the Proxy Process that is scheduled for November 15, 2018. We focus these preliminary comments on two primary areas, proxy advisory firms …

Blue Sky Banter Podcast: John Coffee on the State of Insider Trading Law

By Reynolds Holding November 8, 2018 by renholding

Professor John C. Coffee, Jr. of Columbia Law School speaks with John Metaxas (Columbia Law ’84) about insider trading law and his role on a new task force created to develop proposals for reform in this area. The task force …

Debevoise & Plimpton on the SEC Enforcement Division’s 2018 Annual Report

By Mary Jo White, Andrew J. Ceresney, Robert B. Kaplan, Julie M. Riewe and Jonathan R. Tuttle November 8, 2018 by renholding

On November 2, 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC” or “Commission”) Division of Enforcement released its 2018 Annual Report (“Report”) which presents and assesses the Division’s accomplishments during the 2018 Fiscal Year (“FY”).^[1] The statistics, as well …

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The CLS Blue Sky Blog

Columbia Law School's Blog on Corporations and the Capital Markets

2018