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Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance Viewpoints

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Understanding ESG Ratings: Legal Insights & Perspectives

May 20, 2024 | Advisory | By Jacob Hupart, David Adams, Will G. McKitterick, Tucker Kelsch

Read about environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ratings, including a discussion of their utility, methodologies used to calculate them, and key takeaways for executives, financial professionals, and other market participants concerning the use of ESG scores.

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SEC Approves Sweeping New Climate Disclosure Rule: Key Takeaways

March 14, 2024 | Advisory | By Jacob Hupart, Jennifer Rubin, Doug Baumstein, Thomas R. Burton, III, Sahir Surmeli, Will G. McKitterick

Read about the SEC’s long-awaited final rule concerning climate disclosures, entitled “The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors,” which mandates disclosures of climate-related information by US capital markets participants.

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ESG Political Partisanship: Guidance for In House Counsel

February 7, 2024 | Podcast | By Jennifer Rubin, Alexander Hecht, Nicole Rivers

ESG is today’s political football. As Americans take sides and root for their home teams, companies find themselves at the crux of a battlefield that pitches corporate values, strategy, and reputation against a shifting and dynamic legal and political landscape. This informative panel discussed practical strategies in-house counsel may employ to tackle ESG-related challenges.

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Preparation for 2023 Fiscal Year-End SEC Filings and 2024 Annual Shareholder Meetings

December 15, 2023 | Advisory | By John Condon, Anne Bruno, Melanie Ruthrauff Levy, Jacob Hupart, Cynthia Larose, Breton Leone-Quick, Page R. Hubben, Ellen Shapiro

Public companies need to consider regulatory, legal, market, and ESG-related developments in preparing for their fiscal year-end filings with the SEC and their annual shareholder meetings. In an in-depth memorandum, Mintz attorneys discuss the SEC’s new cybersecurity disclosure rule, recent trends in reverse stock splits, and the SEC’s disclosure requirements for Rule 10b5-1 trading plans and insider trading policies, and other emerging issues affecting public companies.

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Nasdaq’s “Show and Tell” Diversity Disclosure Survives Initial Challenge

October 23, 2023 | Blog | By Jennifer Rubin, Evan Piercey, Danielle Dillon

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New ESG Requirements for Banks that Hold Public Funds May Raise Challenging Compliance Issues

June 29, 2023 | Blog | By Keith Kollmeyer, Jacob Hupart, Ellen Shapiro

Much ink has been spilled about ESG laws and regulations targeted at the investment of public funds, and rightfully so.  Yet, there has been little discussion of novel requirements imposed on banks that simply hold state or local funds as depository institutions.

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A Quantitative Analysis of Comment Letters Issued by the SEC Concerning Climate Change Disclosures

June 8, 2023 | Advisory | By Jacob Hupart, Doug Baumstein, Thomas R. Burton, III, John Condon, Will G. McKitterick, Jaidyn M. Jackson, Tucker Kelsch

From July 2021 through March 2023, the SEC sent reporting entities more than 100 letters seeking information on climate change topics and nearly 170 letters concerning greenwashing. In an in-depth analysis, Mintz attorneys identify and analyze the frequency of various categories of questions as well as the industries and characteristics of the businesses targeted.

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Read about proposed legislation in Texas that would impose extensive new fees and requirements on solar and wind energy generators if enacted into law.

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Navigating Fiduciary Duties amidst the Rise of Anti-ESG Rulemaking

February 15, 2023 | Blog | By Doug Baumstein, Jacob Hupart, Will G. McKitterick, Ellen Shapiro

In recent years, companies and investment managers have increasingly considered environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) issues in corporate strategy and decision-making, whether in response to investor pressure or due to self-imposed changes via internal processes.  Indeed, a market has developed for ESG-compliant investments over the past few years.  And while ESG-focused investing is more popular than ever, the topic has become increasingly politically fraught.

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Caremark Liability Following the SEC’s New ESG Reporting Requirements

December 16, 2022 | Blog | By Jacob Hupart, Doug Baumstein, Jonathan L. Kravetz, Ellen Shapiro, Will G. McKitterick

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Is Antitrust ESG's Achilles Heel ? House Republicans Think So.

December 13, 2022 | Blog | By Bruce Sokler, Jacob Hupart, Tinny Song, Payton Thornton

Prior to the recent midterm elections, we wrote about five Senate Republicans who issued a warning letter to major U.S. law firms regarding the potential antitrust implications of Environmental, Social, and Governance (“ESG”) investing and activities. The letter advises that ESG activities may be viewed as “climate cartels” and present antitrust risk when firms engage in ESG group initiatives. With the midterm election results, those Senate Republicans will likely not be able to follow through on this line of investigation. However, House Republicans have taken up the issue, and they will have the ability to conduct antitrust scrutiny of ESG initiatives.

 
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Preparation for 2022 Fiscal Year-End SEC Filings and 2023 Annual Shareholder Meetings

December 7, 2022 | Advisory | By John Condon, Anne Bruno, Melanie Ruthrauff Levy, Jacob Hupart, Cynthia Larose, Breton Leone-Quick, Page R. Hubben

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From the Edge - In the Boardroom: Session 6 - Crises in the Boardroom

December 7, 2022 | Podcast | By Melanie Ruthrauff Levy, Stephen Osborn, Jason Vigna

In our sixth session, the team is joined by Jason Vigna, a Member in our Securities Litigation Practice, to discuss best practices for handling crises in the boardroom — including identifying, documenting, discussing, managing, and disclosing material risks.

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ERISA Fiduciaries May Consider ESG Factors in Selecting Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights

November 30, 2022 | Alert | By Jacob Hupart, Michelle Capezza, Thomas R. Burton, III, Megan Gates

Read about a DOL final rule under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), which clarifies that fiduciaries may consider climate change and other environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors when making investment decisions and exercising shareholder rights.

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From the Edge - In the Boardroom: Session 5 - Employment Law

November 16, 2022 | Podcast | By Melanie Ruthrauff Levy, Stephen Osborn, Jennifer Rubin

In our fifth session, which focuses on employment law, the team is joined by Jen Rubin, a bicoastal Member in our Employment, Labor & Benefits Practice and Chair of our ESG Practice, to discuss best practices related to hiring an executive (hint: consensus is key), managing the executive at the board level, and how to (amicably) negotiate to terminate an executive.

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Carbon Credit and Carbon Offset Fundamentals

October 20, 2022 | Article | By Areta Jez, Ayaz Shaikh

In this in-depth article, Mintz Projects & Infrastructure Practice Chair Ayaz Shaikh, along with Mintz Associates Areta Jez and Brad Alexander, survey the establishment and evolution of carbon markets and explain carbon credits, carbon offsets, and the difference between compulsory and voluntary carbon markets.

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ESG Considerations in M&A Transactions

October 14, 2022 | Advisory | By Francesca A. McGuire, Thomas R. Burton, III

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From the Edge - In the Boardroom: Session 4 - ESG in the Boardroom

September 28, 2022 | Podcast | By Thomas Burton, Melanie Ruthrauff Levy, Stephen Osborn

In our fourth session, “ESG in the Boardroom,” the team is joined by Kristyn Noeth, Of Counsel at Mintz, to discuss best practices related to and practical implementation of ESG concepts, as well as the impending Climate Disclosure Rule. As noted in the introduction, fewer topics are generating more interest in boardrooms across the country (and at Mintz!) than environmental, social, and corporate governance.

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From the Edge - In the Boardroom: Session 2 - Running an Effective Board Meeting

September 14, 2022 | Podcast | By Thomas Burton, Melanie Ruthrauff Levy, Stephen Osborn

In our second session, “Running an Effective Board Meeting,” the team discusses key considerations for public and private companies in this critical area of governance.

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Read about the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 enacted August 16, 2022, which extends and expands existing tax credits and adds several new energy tax credits to encourage the production of electricity using clean energy and the reduction of carbon emissions.

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