In March 2026, the Division of Corporation Finance (Corp Fin) issued and revised several Corporate Finance Interpretations (CFIs), formerly called Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations, addressing capital markets transactions and corporate practices. This post summarizes Corp Fin’s updated guidance on “ineligible issuer” status, Section 16 reporting obligations, Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (EDGAR) account management following corporate reorganizations, smaller reporting company (SRC) status, and Form S-3 baby shelf applicability to certain At-the-Market (ATM) offerings. Corp Fin also released CFI guidance on Securities Act Rule 701 and asset-backed securities topics. For revised or withdrawn questions, click through to see the SEC’s redline.
Continue Reading SEC Updates CFI Guidance: March 2026 RoundupExecutive Compensation
SEC Updates C&DI Guidance: January and February 2026 Roundup – Part 3
By Cleary Gottlieb on
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
SEC Updates C&DI Guidance: January and February 2026 Roundup – Part 2
By Cleary Gottlieb on
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
SEC Updates C&DI Guidance: January and February 2026 Roundup – Part 1
By Cleary Gottlieb on
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
Selected Issues for Boards of Directors in 2026
By Cleary Gottlieb on
Posted in AI, Antitrust, Boards of Directors, Case Law Developments, Corporate Governance, Corporate Law, Cybersecurity, Delaware Law, Disclosure and Reporting, Economic Sanctions and Foreign Investments, Enforcement, ERISA, ESG, Executive Compensation, Intellectual Property, Merger Litigation, Private Equity, Proxy Rules, Proxy Season, Restructurings, SEC and Securities Laws, SEC Guidance, Shareholder Activism, Tax
2026 promises to be a year that will demand both agility and strategic foresight from boards of directors and management as they navigate unprecedented challenges.
Drawing on insights from colleagues across Cleary Gottlieb’s global offices, our 2026 edition of Selected Issues for Boards of Directors examines the critical issues that dominated boardroom discussions in 2025 and identifies the emerging trends that will shape board agendas in the year ahead.
Continue Reading Selected Issues for Boards of Directors in 2026Selected Issues for Boards of Directors in 2025
By Cleary Gottlieb on
Posted in AI, Antitrust, Boards of Directors, Corporate Governance, Corporate Law, Cybersecurity, Delaware Law, Disclosure and Reporting, Economic Sanctions and Foreign Investments, Enforcement, ERISA, ESG, Executive Compensation, Private Equity, SEC and Securities Laws, SEC Guidance, Shareholder Activism, Tax
2025 promises to be another turbulent year for boards of directors. On the heels of a historically unprecedented election, companies are still ramping up compliance with the ambitious agenda of the outgoing administration while simultaneously bracing for the changes promised by the next one. Against that backdrop, colleagues from across Cleary’s offices have zeroed-in on the impact of the issues that boards of directors and senior management of public companies have faced in the past year, as well as on what can be anticipated in the year to come.
Continue Reading Selected Issues for Boards of Directors in 2025It’s Not DE, It’s You: 55 Billion Reasons Tesla is Not ‘Your Company’
On January 30, 2024, the Delaware Court of Chancery struck down Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s $55 billion performance-based stock option package, ruling that Tesla’s directors did not satisfy the stringent “entire fairness” standard in approving his compensation. This case comes on the heels of a $735 million settlement in which Tesla directors disgorged previously-received compensation following shareholder claims of unjust enrichment and breach of fiduciary duty.[1] The court applied the entire fairness standard because of Musk’s enormous control over the transaction, referring to him as a “Superstar CEO”[2] who wielded maximum possible influence over the board. While the compensation package was approved by a majority of disinterested shareholders, the court concluded proxy disclosure was deficient and therefore shareholders were not fully informed.[3] Ultimately, the Tesla board was not able to prove the benefit received from Musk’s leadership was worth the $55 billion Tesla paid for it.
Continue Reading It’s Not DE, It’s You: 55 Billion Reasons Tesla is Not ‘Your Company’Selected Issues for Boards of Directors in 2024
By Cleary Gottlieb on
As 2024 gets off to a busy start, companies, boards and management teams are facing a host of new and developing business issues and a large array of regulatory developments, from new and growing risks and opportunities from the adoption of artificial intelligence, to ever-changing ESG issues and backlash, as well as enhanced focus on government enforcement and review. As has become a tradition, we have asked our colleagues from around our firm to boil down those issues in their fields that boards of directors and senior management of public companies will be facing in the coming year, yielding focused updates in eighteen topics that will surely feature at the top of board agendas throughout the year.
Continue Reading Selected Issues for Boards of Directors in 2024New York Advances Towards Banning All Non-Competes
By Alan Levine & Emily C. Barry on
Earlier this week, the New York State legislature passed a bill banning all non-competes entered into on or after 30 days past the bill’s enactment, including those entered into by employees or in connection with the sale of a business. If the bill becomes law, it would make New York the fifth state in the U.S. to enact a ban on non-competes. California, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Oklahoma have also enacted bans on non-competes, but theirs do not go as far as New York’s full ban, instead banning only employee non-competes, but preserving those that are entered into in connection with the sale of a business.
Continue Reading New York Advances Towards Banning All Non-CompetesUpdates on Non-Competes
By Alan Levine, Melissa Reid, Ashley Moss & Edward Chung on
Minnesota bans new employee non-competes beginning July 1, 2023, and the United Kingdom intends to cap their duration at 3 months
Minnesota Becomes the 4th U.S. State to Ban Employee Non-Competes
Following in the footsteps of California, North Dakota and Oklahoma, Minnesota has banned all employee non-competes beginning July 1, 2023, and bars employers from utilizing choice-of-law or choice-of-venue clauses in an attempt to use a more favorable state’s law as a workaround. Importantly, the new law is not retroactive and does not affect other employee restrictions, such as confidentiality and non-solicitation covenants.
Continue Reading Updates on Non-Competes