Expert Analysis

• Exxon ESG Proxy Statement Suit May Chill Investor Proposals

  

  Exxon Mobil’s recent use of a Texas federal lawsuit to intimidate shareholders into withdrawing a climate-friendly proxy proposal could inspire more public companies to sue to avoid adopting ESG resolutions — a power move that would chill activist investor participation and unbalance shareholder-corporate relations, say Domenico Minerva and James Fee at Labaton Keller.

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  Coaching High School Wrestling Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Coaching my son’s high school wrestling team has been great fun, but it’s also demonstrated how a legal career can benefit from certain experiences, such as embracing the unknown, studying the rules and engaging with new people, says Richard Davis at Maynard Nexsen.

• Implications For Digital Assets After SEC Settlement With DAO

  

  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's December settlement with BarnBridge — finding that the decentralized autonomous organization's products were securities under federal law — foreshadows increased enforcement attention on digital assets, and reveals arguments the SEC may use in similar disputes with decentralized finance protocols, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

• SG's Office Is Case Study To Help Close Legal Gender Gap

  

  As women continue to be underrepresented in the upper echelons of the legal profession, law firms could learn from the example set by the Office of the Solicitor General, where culture and workplace policies have helped foster greater gender equality, say attorneys at Ocean Tomo.

• Bitcoin ETF Approval Doesn't Mean SEC Approves Of Crypto

  

  While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's approval last month of 11 applications for spot exchange-traded funds tracking bitcoin is a landmark moment for the crypto-asset industry, investors who are hopeful that the SEC will approve similar crypto-based ETFs may be disappointed, says attorneys at Mintz.

• A Closer Look At Novel Jury Instruction In Forex Rigging Case

  

  After the recent commodities fraud conviction of a U.K.-based hedge fund executive in U.S. v. Phillips, post-trial briefing has focused on whether the New York federal court’s jury instruction incorrectly defined the requisite level of intent, which should inform defense counsel in future open market manipulation cases, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert.

• Reducing Carbon Footprint Requires A Tricky Path For CRE

  

  As real estate owners find themselves caught between rapidly evolving environmental, social and governance initiatives and complicated societal debate, they will need to carefully establish formal plans to remain both competitive and compliant, say Michael Kuhn and Mahira Khan at Jackson Walker.

• Del.'s Tesla Pay Takedown Tells Boards What Not To Do

  

  The Delaware Chancery Court’s ruthless dissection of the Tesla board’s extreme departures from standard corporate governance in its January opinion striking down CEO Elon Musk’s $55 billion pay package offers a blow-by-blow guide to mistakes Delaware public companies can avoid when negotiating executive compensation, say attorneys at Cleary.

• The Corporate Disclosure Tug-Of-War's Free Speech Issues

  

  The continuing conflict over corporate disclosure requirements — highlighted by a lawsuit against Missouri's anti-ESG rules — has important implications not just for investors and regulated entities but also for broader questions about the scope of the First Amendment, say Colin Pohlman, and Jane Luxton and Paul Kisslinger at Lewis Brisbois.

• What New Calif. Strike Force Means For White Collar Crimes

  

  The recently announced Central District of California strike force targeting complex corporate and securities fraud — following the Northern District of California's model — combines experienced prosecutorial leadership and partnerships with federal agencies like the IRS and FBI, and could result in an uptick in the number of cases and speed of proceedings, say attorneys at MoFo.

• Del. Dispatch: Clarification On Fiduciary Duties Of Controllers

  

  The Delaware Chancery Court’s January opinion in a Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores' stockholder dispute — holding that a controlling stockholder owes the company and minority shareholders some fiduciary duties when selling shares or voting to change the status quo — suggests instances where investors opposing board decisions should tread carefully, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

• Navigating The Sunset Of Sibor And Other Key Benchmarks

  

  Similar to the recent transition away from Libor, the expected cessation deadlines of the Canadian Dollar Offered Rate and Singapore Interbank Offered Rate are nigh, so Canadian and Singapore dollar-denominated credit facilities will likely need to be amended, say attorneys at Cadwalader.

• What Shareholder Approval Rule Changes Mean For Cos.

  

  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently approved proposed rule changes to shareholder requirements by the New York Stock Exchange, an approval that will benefit listed companies in many ways, including by making it easier to raise capital from passive investors, say attorneys at Baker Botts.

• Reimagining Law Firm Culture To Break The Cycle Of Burnout

  

  While attorney burnout remains a perennial issue in the legal profession, shifting post-pandemic expectations mean that law firms must adapt their office cultures to retain talent, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.

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  ESG Around The World: Brazil

  

  Environmental, social and governance issues have increasingly translated into new legislation in Brazil since 2020, and in the wake of these recently enacted regulations, we are likely to see a growing number of legal disputes in the largest South American country related to ESG issues such as greenwashing if companies are not prepared to adequately adapt and comply, say attorneys at Mattos Filho.