Sky Blog
The 2026 edition of the annual Chief Legal Officers Survey (“Survey”) from the Association of Corporate Counsel validates the continuing evolution of senior in-house corporate counsel from strictly technical experts to also wise counselors and business partners to management. In …
On February 4, Judge Alan Albright of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas issued an opinion declaring Texas’ anti-ESG law Senate Bill 13 (“SB 13”) to be unconstitutional under the First and Fourteenth Amendments, due to
“If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change.” This maxim from Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa’s classic novel, The Leopard, captures the central insight of our new article. In the novel, a Sicilian aristocrat watches …
When a core product feature depends on an external AI model operated by another company, part of the product’s behavior and customer experience is effectively outsourced. That changes what the company can promise customers, what it can test before launch, …
The shareholder proposal process is currently the subject of renewed scrutiny and critique. Detractors have raised concerns about cost, legitimacy, and federalism. The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced its intent to conduct a formal rulemaking to alter the shareholder …
Independent monitorships have become a familiar feature of modern corporate enforcement. Once largely confined to court-appointed special masters in public law litigation, monitors are now routinely imposed in corporate settlements with the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, …
In boardrooms, courtrooms, and regulatory debates, corporate short-termism is often treated as a problem to be solved. Executives who focus too heavily on quarterly earnings, critics argue, sacrifice long-term value by cutting investment, skimping on innovation, and prioritizing optics over …
For over a decade, the narrative of corporate governance was focused on the concentration of power. The “Big Three”asset managers – BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street – along with the two dominant proxy advisers, ISS and Glass Lewis, were seen …
In recent decades, the business world has undergone a significant paradigm shift. What began as largely voluntary corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives has evolved into a comprehensive framework of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics. As demand for these metrics …
In a year of significant regulatory, geopolitical, technological and macroeconomic turbulence, boards have had to manage through an environment of uncertainty. Unpredictability caused by frequent policy shifts and evolving expectations and demands from governmental and market actors added complexity to …
Recently in Johnson & Johnson et al. v. Fortis Advisors, LLC, the Delaware Supreme Court reversed, in part, the Delaware Court of Chancery’s ruling that a buyer breached the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing (the “implied …
In advanced economies, the regulation of corporate governance during initial public offerings (IPOs) is used increasingly as a capital markets policy instrument. As public listings declined, private-equity financing grew, and regulatory competition intensified, lawmakers reconsidered the role of mandatory …
In the world of corporate governance, large institutional investors wield power. But for many, that power comes from using their “voice” to call for changes within the firm because voting with their feet by selling their stake is not realistic. …
Firms need data to ensure core business functions. Yet, as we discuss in a new paper, many do not pay enough attention to data sources, tending instead to focus on how data are used. Most regulations address downstream uses …
In 2026, companies and individuals conduct many important transactions using images of objects or documents, rather than the original items themselves. For example, individuals authenticate themselves using photos of their passports; banks process and accept check deposits using images of …
As Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI advances to trial in April 2026, the case offers more than courtroom drama – it provides a critical test of whether hybrid corporate organizational structures can sustain public-interest commitments in the face of extraordinary …
For decades, the SEC stood as the principal barrier to mandatory arbitration for shareholder claims. In September 2025, that barrier fell. The agency’s reversal on shareholder arbitration represents a seismic policy shift, leaving Delaware law as the sole impediment …
When activist investors acquire large stakes in a company and seek influence, they traditionally push for seats on the board of directors. In recent years, however, many activists have instead appointed a non-voting observer who can attend board meetings, receive …
In 1814, as the War of 1812 raged, New York adopted an Act to Encourage Privateering Associations (the “Act”), which was the second general incorporation statute in U.S. history. This unusual statute provides a case study that advances three arguments: …
America’s capital markets are the envy of the world but face an existential threat from the meteoric rise of index funds. The problem is a growing erosion of corporate accountability. Last month, President Trump took a first pass at this …