Arnold & Porter Discusses Attacks on Board Diversity Initiatives

By Amy Endicott, Teresa L. Johnson, Sean M. SeLegue and Kaitlin Robinson May 5, 2022 by renholding

Nasdaq’s Board Diversity Rule, approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in August 2021, is the subject of an ongoing, high stakes court battle in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The attorneys general of …

Sullivan & Cromwell Discusses Court Decision Invalidating California Board Diversity Law

By Patrick S. Brown, Diane L. McGimsey, Adam S. Paris, Alexandria M. Ross and John L. Savva April 6, 2022 by renholding

On April 1, 2022, in Crest v. Padilla, California Superior Court Judge Terry Green granted summary judgment in favor of plaintiffs who had challenged AB 979, one of California’s two board diversity statutes, as violating the California Constitution. The …

ISS Discusses Women on California Boards

By Paul Hodgson March 15, 2022 by renholding

Since 1995, US presidents have issued a series of annual proclamations designating March as Women’s History Month to celebrate the contributions women have made to the US and recognize the specific achievements women have made over the course of American

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Skadden Discusses California Decision Upholding Uber’s Federal Forum Charter Provision

By Peter B. Morrison, Virginia Milstead and Zachary Faigen December 4, 2020 by Nisha Chandra

A California state court dismissed a putative securities fraud class action against Uber, as well as certain individuals and underwriters, on the grounds of inconvenient forum, holding that the federal forum selection provision (FFP) in Uber’s charter was valid and

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Goodwin Procter Discusses Shareholder Suits to Increase Board Diversity

By Alexis Coll-Very, Deborah S. Birnbach and Jade T. White November 17, 2020 by Nisha Chandra

A lot of attention has been paid to board diversity – or lack thereof – in recent months. California enacted AB-979, which expanded upon California’s earlier gender diversity law and requires boards to make strides in other types of diversity, …

Racial Diversity, Gender Equality, and Corporate Governance: An Update

By Michael W. Peregrine November 6, 2020 by renholding

Corporate governing boards have a substantial homework assignment given multiple important developments affecting board composition and oversight of workforce culture. These developments encompass new surveys from prominent governance and consulting sources, notable litigation trends, and a new state law. Collectively, …

Racial Diversity and Corporate Governance: Assessing California’s New Board Diversity Mandate

By Courtney Murray and Eric Talley October 28, 2020 by renholding

Corporate governance is historically perceived as a specialized, idiosyncratic and somewhat arcane field. But increasingly, it has come to serve as a lightning rod for broader public debates. Perhaps no moment underscores this trend more sharply than the 2020 …

Arnold & Porter Discusses California Law Requiring “Underrepresented Community” Members on Boards

By Teresa L. Johnson and Amy Endicott October 2, 2020 by renholding

On September 30, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law a landmark bill (AB 979) requiring boards of directors of California-based public reporting corporations to have a minimum number of directors from underrepresented communities on their boards.

Definition of

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Skadden Discusses California Ruling Upholding Exclusive Federal Forum Charter Provision

By Virginia Milstead, Peter B. Morrison and Raza Rasheed September 22, 2020 by snehapandya

On September 1, 2020, Judge Marie S. Weiner of the San Mateo County, California Superior Court held that an exclusive federal forum provision was enforceable under California law. See Wong v. Restoration Robotics, Inc., No. 18CIV02609 (Cal. Super. Ct., Sept. …

The Contested Edges of Internal Affairs

By Mohsen Manesh September 23, 2019 by renholding

During a four-month span in late 2018, two events occurred at opposite ends of the country that could dramatically reshape the regulation of corporations in America. First, in September 2018, California enacted the nation’s first law mandating board gender diversity…

How to Increase Gender Diversity on Private Company Boards

By Jennifer S. Fan June 12, 2019 by renholding

There are more women than ever on public company boards, but private companies have not kept pace. Legal scholarship has tended to focus on women on public company boards perhaps in part due to the relative absence of information about …

“Centros,” California’s ‘Women on Boards’ Statute, and the Scope of Regulatory Competition

By Jill E. Fisch and Steven Davidoff Solomon May 30, 2019 by renholding

It has been 20 years since the European Court of Justice issued its decision in Centros Ltd. v. Erhvervs – og Selskabsstyrelsen (Centros). Since that time, Centros has been widely understood as shifting the European Union (EU) from …

Insider Trading and Disclosure: The Case of Cyberattacks

By Eli Amir, Shai Levi and Tsafrir Livne April 25, 2019 by renholding

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently identified incidents in which top executives sold shares before disclosing to the public negative information about cyberattacks. For example, the former chief information officer of Equifax, Jun Ying, exercised his stock options …

Diversity’s Role in Boardroom Leadership

By Joseph Mandato and William Devine April 19, 2019 by renholding

What does boardroom culture yield when a board commits to a broad embrace of diversity—including diversity of gender, ideas, ethnicity, race, education, age, and skills? Do chances improve for decisions that help lead the company to maximize its potential and …

California Dreamin’: The Impact of the New Board Gender Diversity Law

By Mikayla Kuhns, Rudy Kwack and Kosmas Papadopoulos January 4, 2019 by renholding

Just as the Mamas & the Papas pioneered the folk-rock scene of the 1960s as one of the first truly gender diverse music group, their native state of California is breaking ground for increased board gender diversity in the United …

Cleary Gottlieb Discusses Non-Disparagement Clauses

By Caroline Hayday, Arthur H. Kohn, Michael Albano and Mary Alcock November 6, 2018 by abirvarma

In September, former Uber executive Eric Alexander filed a complaint (the “Complaint”) against another former Uber executive, Rachel Whetstone. The Complaint alleges breach of a mutual non-disparagement clause in Whetstone’s separation agreement with Uber; a clause that Whetstone, during her …

Arnold & Porter Compares New California Privacy Law With the EU’s Privacy Regime

By Nancy L. Perkins, Anthony Raglani, Ronald D. Lee, Zoe V. Walkinshaw, Anthony Samson and Angel Tang Nakamura October 22, 2018 by renholding

On September 23, 2018, the governor of California signed into law an amended version of the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA),[1] which was originally enacted in late June 2018. The amendments are a partial response to extensive …

Don’t Fear California’s New Board Gender Quota

By Sophie L’Hélias October 16, 2018 by renholding

On September 30, 2018, only hours before the deadline, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed bill SB 826, making his state the first in the U.S. to adopt board gender quotas for public companies.

The law requires listed companies headquartered in …

Arnold & Porter Discusses New California Law on Security for Internet-Connected Devices

By Ronald D. Lee, Joseph Farris, Michael E. Samuels and Amanda J. Sherwood October 12, 2018 by renholding

California has passed the first state law imposing security requirements on devices in the Internet of Things (IoT). On September 28, 2018, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law the nearly identical Senate Bill 327 and Assembly Bill 1906,[1]…

Sullivan & Cromwell Discusses California’s Female Gender Quotas for Public Companies

By Sullivan & Cromwell LLP October 10, 2018 by pss2150

On September 30, 2018, Governor Brown of California signed into law a bill, SB-826, to require female representation on the boards of directors of publicly traded companies who identify as being headquartered in the state. SB-826 makes California the first …

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