Socio-economic inequality has risen over the last 40 years in almost every part of the world and has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Inequality does not only affect societies – it can also have a significant impact on the …

Cryptocurrencies and other digital assets (“crypto”) are surging in popularity.  If cryptos are securities (“investment contracts” under the Howey test), they must be sold in accordance with the federal securities laws.  This likely requires registration with the Securities and Exchange …

On March 21, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released its statement on proposed mandatory climate risk disclosure. In the statement, Chairman Gensler said, “Today, investors representing literally tens of trillions of dollars support climate-related disclosures because they recognize …

[Editor’s Note: We present this and the following two pieces as a symposium on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposed climate-disclosure rules released on March 21, 2022.]

After a considerable delay, the SEC finally told us last week in …

In August 2021, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (“IPCC”) found that “unless there are immediate, rapid and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, limiting warming to close to [the Paris Agreement’s goal of] 1.5°C or even 2°C …

On March 21, 2022, the SEC formally launched one of the most significant initiatives ever taken in its nearly 90-year history: proposals for disclosure of climate-related risks. (SEC, The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors. Sec. Act. Rel. …

On March 9, 2022, the SEC proposed rules mandating cybersecurity disclosure, including a new Item 1.05 for Form 8-K, which requires current reporting of cybersecurity incidents deemed by the registrant to be material.

In a 2018 article published in the …

Recent social movements have generated a renewed emphasis on promoting diverse and inclusive workplaces. For example, institutional investors have increased their investments in firms that demonstrate strong commitments to diversity, and regulators also increasingly require firms to describe the extent …

Can managers obtain more useful feedback from capital markets by disclosing pieces of information separately and at different times instead of bundling the information and releasing it at once? It is well known that capital markets’ response to firms’ announcements …

The Financial Economist Roundtable (“FER”) met in July 2021 to discuss current efforts to measure and require disclosure of firms’ ESG activities.[1]  The views of individual FER members about specific issues often differ, but the consensus was that financial …

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulates and monitors companies to increase transparency and protect investors. The securities laws consider the companies’ interests and allow them to make requests to redact certain information in SEC filings and not publicly disclose …