Just a few days ago, a state-linked hacking group claimed responsibility for a disruptive cyberattack on a Fortune 500 medical technology company with no ransom demand and no negotiation, calling it retaliation for a U.S. military strike. The risk of this type of politically-motivated cyberattack may increase given the increasingly volatile geopolitical environment. To combat this, the President recently signed an executive order targeting cybercrime carried out by transnational criminal organizations, aimed at improving federal coordination in combatting cybercrime. Now is an important time for boards and management teams to focus on crisis and risk management, including durable operational resilience planning. This alert provides perspectives about current best practices on incident preparedness in the face of such threats, explains how this preparedness can be supplemented by an operational resilience framework, discusses the practical implications of the executive order, and lays out a governance hygiene checklist to guide your next cybersecurity oversight discussion.Continue Reading Cybersecurity in the Age of Cyber Warfare: Governance Reminders for Public Company Boards
Blog Post
SEC Updates C&DI Guidance: January and February 2026 Roundup – Part 3
In January and February 2026, the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance (Corp Fin) issued, revised, and withdrew several C&DIs addressing corporate transactions and capital markets practices. The full set of January and February releases is linked below:
- January 23, 2026: Release 1 | Release 2 | Release 3
- February 11, 2026: Release 1 | Release 2
- February 17, 2026: Release 1
Continue Reading SEC Updates C&DI Guidance: January and February 2026 Roundup – Part 3
SEC Updates C&DI Guidance: January and February 2026 Roundup – Part 2
In January and February 2026, the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance (Corp Fin) issued, revised, and withdrew several C&DIs addressing corporate transactions and capital markets practices. The full set of January and February releases is linked below:
- January 23, 2026: Release 1 | Release 2 | Release 3
- February 11, 2026: Release 1 | Release 2
- February 17, 2026: Release 1
Continue Reading SEC Updates C&DI Guidance: January and February 2026 Roundup – Part 2
SEC Updates C&DI Guidance: January and February 2026 Roundup – Part 1
In January and February 2026, the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance (Corp Fin) issued, revised, and withdrew several C&DIs addressing corporate transactions and capital markets practices. The full set of January and February releases is linked below:
- January 23, 2026: Release 1 | Release 2 | Release 3
- February 11, 2026: Release 1 | Release 2
- February 17, 2026: Release 1
Continue Reading SEC Updates C&DI Guidance: January and February 2026 Roundup – Part 1
Reframing Board Diversity Disclosure in 2026 Proxy Statements
Board diversity disclosure is undergoing a meaningful recalibration. After years of increasing pressure by shareholders and other stakeholders to increase the number of women and underrepresented minorities on boards and provide robust disclosure of board demographic information, the framework is now shifting. Following the U.S. Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit’s December 2024 decision to strike down the rule requiring Nasdaq-listed companies to include board diversity disclosure in their proxy statements, the Trump Administration’s targeting of DEI programs, and the related pullback from the major proxy advisory firms and institutional investors in their stewardship principles and voting guidelines, companies are now re-assessing how they define and describe the diversity of directors serving on their boards in their proxy statements. While companies continue to emphasize that their boards include directors with diverse skills, backgrounds, experiences and viewpoints, proxy statement disclosure increasingly frames diversity in broader terms instead of focusing primarily on protected classes. Continue Reading Reframing Board Diversity Disclosure in 2026 Proxy Statements
The NAL Landscape Post-SEC Announcement
I. Introduction
In November 2025, the Division of Corporate Finance (the “Staff”) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) announced that it would no longer provide substantive responses to most no-action requests for shareholder proposals during this proxy season. Since this announcement (the “Announcement”), public companies have found themselves in uncharted territory. While companies may request a response from the Staff if they provide an unqualified representation that the company has a reasonable basis to exclude the proposal under Rule 14a-8, the Staff will only issue a no-action response based on that unqualified representation, and not based on any independent analysis of the merits of the arguments presented. Without the added assurance of the SEC’s substantive review, a number of companies have refreshed their strategic approach to no-action letters this proxy season. The exclusion notices[1] that have been submitted since the Announcement provide a glimpse into emerging trends regarding how companies and their legal counsel are interpreting the announcement and navigating this unguided landscape.Continue Reading The NAL Landscape Post-SEC Announcement
Fifth Circuit Reinstates CTA Injunction Pending Oral Arguments in March; FinCEN January 13 Deadline on Hold
On December 26, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated the previous grant of a stay of the injunction enjoining enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) and beneficial ownership reporting rule. As a result, the nationwide preliminary injunction originally granted by the district court is once again in effect pending consideration of the DOJ’s appeal by the Fifth Circuit’s merits panel.Continue Reading Fifth Circuit Reinstates CTA Injunction Pending Oral Arguments in March; FinCEN January 13 Deadline on Hold
Section 16(a) Insider Reporting: Legislation Ends Foreign Private Issuer Exemption
On December 18, 2025, the President of the United States signed into law the Holding Foreign Insiders Accountable Act (“HFIAA”), making officers and directors of foreign private issuers (“FPIs”) subject to public reporting of holdings of, and transactions in, the issuers’ equity securities under Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). The new law will become effective on March 18, 2026.Continue Reading Section 16(a) Insider Reporting: Legislation Ends Foreign Private Issuer Exemption
Preparing an Annual Report on Form 20-F – Guide for 2026
Form 20-F is the form used for an annual report of a foreign private issuer (“FPI”) filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC” or the “Commission”). This alert memorandum summarizes considerations that will affect the preparation of the annual report on Form 20-F for the year ending on December 31, 2025 (the “2025 20‑F”) and certain other developments pertinent to FPIs.Continue Reading Preparing an Annual Report on Form 20-F – Guide for 2026
Filing Fees and the Fuss over FEPT
The Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) adopted the “Filing Fee Disclosure and Payment Methods Modernization Rule” on October 13, 2021, to “make the filing process faster, less expensive, and more efficient for SEC staff and market participants.” Over the last few years, the SEC has phased in various requirements of this rule. However, effective July 31, 2025, all filers are now required to be compliant.Continue Reading Filing Fees and the Fuss over FEPT