Forum-selection provisions are common tools for corporations seeking to counteract potentially abusive shareholder litigation. Last month, the Supreme Court of Delaware held that Federal forum provisions, which require actions arising under the Federal Securities Act of 1933, as amended, to be filed in a Federal court, could survive a facial challenge.…

On March 27, 2020, President Donald Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act into law. Among other things, the CARES Act made some important changes to the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.  My colleague Jack Meadows explains on our Banking & Finance blog.…

On March 13, 2020, in response to the recent outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the Securities and Exchange Commission released guidance providing regulatory flexibility to reporting companies seeking to change the date, time, or location of annual shareholder meetings and use new technologies, such as “virtual” shareholder meetings, that avoid the need for in-person meetings. Given the public health and safety concerns related to COVID-19, the Commission provided guidance for reporting companies on how…

On March 4, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued an Order granting conditional relief from certain filing obligations under the federal securities laws for reporting companies whose compliance may be delayed by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). In the press release accompanying this unprecedented Order, SEC Chairman Jay Clayton noted, “The health and safety of all participants in our markets is of paramount importance. While timely public filing of Exchange Act reports is a cornerstone…

Publicly traded companies have long been concerned with Internal Revenue Code Section 162(m) in order to maximize the deductibility of compensation paid to certain covered officers. Last year’s tax reform act made significant changes to Code Section 162(m). The IRS also recently published a Notice that explained some of these changes in more detail. To address these issues, public companies may need to review their administrative practices, particularly how they keep track of their covered…

As spring approaches, so do annual shareholder meetings for many public companies. Traditionally, these meetings were held in-person. However, due to fairly recent advances in technology, companies now have the option to hold these meetings exclusively online or by providing for online participation, which both offer advantages and disadvantages to shareholders and company leaders. Furthermore, not all state corporate statutes permit a virtual component, and those that do may impose specific requirements. With an increasing…

One of the worse situations a company may face to be determined to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the act). If determined to be an investment company, the company is subject to the full regulation under the act. In addition, a company may inadvertently become an investment company; in such a case, all of its contracts are potentially voidable and it cannot engage in any other business.…