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Antitrust Scrutiny of the ‘Big Three’ Asset Managers’ ESG Policies Heats Up

As noted in this WSJ article, the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission recently raised concerns in a “joint statement of interest” that large asset managers – including the “Big Three” of BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street – may have violated antitrust laws by using their influence to promote ESG policies that reduce coal production, potentially harming competition and consumers.  In the joint statement …

Crypto Companies: “‘Come In and Register’ – Now With Directions”

Here’s the intro from this Cooley Alert penned by Derek Colla, Pang Lee, Rodrigo Seira, Joyce Wang and Will Pao: “For years, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s invitation to crypto companies sounded simple: “Come in and register.” But there was no map, no guide and no obvious way forward – only uncertainty and risk. That changed on April 10, when the SEC’s Division of Corporation …

The SEC’s Upcoming June 26th Executive Pay Roundtable

On Friday, the SEC announced that it would host a roundtable on executive compensation disclosure requirements on June 26th with investor and public company representatives (and others) as part of the process “to ensure that they continue to be cost-effective and result in disclosure of material information without an overload of immaterial information” as noted in this statement from SEC Chair Paul Atkins. The public …

The DOJ’s Policy Shift to Incentivize Self-Reporting

Earlier this week, the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division released four documents on corporate misconduct, whistleblowers, compliance monitors, and enforcement priorities that outline significant changes to the DOJ’s policies under the Trump Administration. These four documents are: As noted in this speech by the new head of the Criminal Division – Matthew Galeotti – the principal thrust is that the DOJ aims to incentivize self-reporting …

New Executive Order Seeks to Curb Overuse of Criminal Actions Brought By Federal Agencies

Last week, President Trump issued an executive order – entitled “Fighting Overcriminalization in Federal Regulations” – with the goal of curbing the use of criminal penalties otherwise imposed by federal regulations. The executive order argues that citizens can’t possibly know all of the federal regs out there, and that larger companies have an advantage because they can hire lawyers more easily than the average American. …

Five Wild Things About the New Texas Shareholder Proposal Law

As we’ve blogged about recently, Texas has taken a number of steps to bolster its reputation as a business-friendly state. The latest is a new law aimed at making it harder for shareholder proponents to get a proposal (other than a director nomination) on the ballot at a meeting of shareholders. This bill, which is fairly bare bones, has been approved by the Texas Legislature …

The Coming SEC-PCAOB Merger? Arguments Against Abolishing the PCAOB

The House Financial Services Committee voted to include a provision in the 2025 budget reconciliation bill that would abolish the PCAOB. The proposal would reassign PCAOB functions to the SEC. Unfortunately, if this PCAOB provision stays in the budget reconciliation bill, it’s likely to be the end of the PCAOB. The fate of the PCAOB would be a minor detail in the context of the reconciliation …

Crypto Shake-Up: Narrowing Risks, From Securities Scrutiny to Consumer Claims

Here’s the intro from this Cooley Alert penned by William Pao, Alexander Galicki, Michelle Doolin, Rodrigo Seira and Derek Colla: “Crypto is now in Washington’s good graces – or at least that’s how it may seem. The return of the Trump administration has injected new energy into the crypto asset space, with sweeping rhetoric about “unleashing innovation” and a flurry of early moves that suggest …