Metro Corp Counsel Runs Akin Gump Articles on Crowdfunding, ISS Proposals

In its December issue, Metropolitan Corporate Counsel published two articles penned by members of Akin Gump’s corporate practice: “Do Not Let ISS Go Overboard” by corporate practice head Kerry Berchem and “SEC to Implement Crowdfunding Exemption” by partner Garrett DeVries and associate Chase Mechanick.

The first discusses three recent proposals by Institutional Shareholder Services to change its voting policies for U.S. issuers for the 2016 proxy season, including one “to reduce the maximum number of public company boards on which one may sit from six to either four or five.” Berchem writes, “[N]ot all companies require the same attention, and not all board members are created in the same mold. Each member of the board will have his or her own experience, skills and aptitude to bring to the table. So long as each director is actively participating in constructive discussions, is it anyone’s business what he or she is doing outside of the boardroom?” (To read the full article, please click here.)

The second concerns a vote by the Securities and Exchange Commission to adopt final rules on equity crowdfunding that implement Title III of the JOBS (Jumpstart Our Business Startups) Act of 2012. The authors write that “Recognizing that regulatory relief could help small businesses and start-ups raise capital over the Internet more effectively, Congress passed Title III of the JOBS Act, which provides that certain specified crowdfunding transactions are exempt from registration.” (To read the full article, please click here.)

Both articles were originally published on Akin Gump’s AG Deal Diary blog. (Learn more here.)