Following up on our recent post analyzing Texas’s new proxy advisor disclosure statute, S.B. 2337, we note a significant development: On August 29, 2025, Judge Alan Albright of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas issued a preliminary injunction temporarily preventing the Texas Attorney General from enforcing the law against major proxy advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS) and Glass, Lewis & Co. (Glass Lewis).Continue Reading Federal Court Blocks Enforcement of Texas Proxy Advisor Disclosure Law

Transactions in the United States and the United Kingdom can have material differences, particularly with respect to purchase price adjustment mechanics, due diligence processes, equity incentives, third-party reliance on diligence reports, sandbagging provisions, MAC closing conditions, and auction processes. This article explores these areas further, providing insights into how legal frameworks and market practices differ between the two jurisdictions.Continue Reading Crossing the Atlantic: Navigating Differences in US and UK M&A Practice

Texas has enacted S.B. 2337, a statute set to reshape proxy advisory practices for publicly traded companies that are either organized in Texas, have their principal place of business in the state or have proposed becoming a domestic entity within Texas.Continue Reading Texas’s New Proxy Advisor Disclosure Law: Key Details for Shareholders and Companies Ahead of September 2025

In United States v. Chastain, No. 23-7038, 2025 WL 2165839 (2d Cir. July 31, 2025), the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated wire fraud and money laundering convictions in what the government described as its first crypto insider trading case. The case involves a former employee of OpenSea, an online non-fungible token (“NFT”) marketplace, who allegedly used confidential information about which NFTs would be featured on OpenSea’s homepage to purchase those NFTs before they were promoted, then sold them after a post-promotion price bump for a profit. At trial, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York instructed the jury that property protected by the wire fraud statute need not have commercial value, and the defendant could be convicted of wire fraud by failing to abide by societal mores. Continue Reading Second Circuit Vacates Fraud Conviction in First Crypto “Insider Trading” Case

In EpicentRx, Inc. v. Superior Court, Case No. S282521, 2025 WL 2027272 (Cal. July 21, 2025), the California Supreme Court held that forum selection clauses may be enforced against California plaintiffs even when the selected forum — such as the oft-selected Delaware Court of Chancery — would not afford plaintiffs a right to a civil jury trial they would otherwise have had in a California court. This decision effectively overrules Handoush v. Lease Financing Group, LLC, 41 Cal.App.5th 729 (2019), in which the California Court of Appeal (First District) restricted courts from enforcing such clauses where the plaintiff would not be entitled to a jury trial in the selected forum. The Supreme Court’s decision thus clarifies the law in California, providing practitioners and litigants with greater certainty that forum selection clauses will be enforced.Continue Reading California Supreme Court Holds That Lack of Jury Trial Right Is Insufficient to Reject Enforcement of Forum Selection Clause

The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit recently held that the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the securities industry were effectively “separated by a common language.” Giving heed to the plain meaning rule when interpreting legislative intent, the Court in Institutional Shareholder Services, Inc. v. SEC, No. 24-5105, —F.4th —, 2025 WL 1802786 (D.C. Cir. July 1, 2025), affirmed an order of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia (see Institutional Shareholder Services, Inc. v. SEC, 718 F. Supp. 3d 7 (D.D.C. 2024)), granting summary judgment to plaintiff Institutional Shareholder Services, Inc. (“ISS”), holding that the SEC’s definition of the term “solicit” went beyond the meaning Congress contemplated when enacting Section 14(a) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”). The decision analyzed the SEC’s 2020 amendment to its rules regulating proxy advice to define the term “solicit” / “solicitation” to include the provision of client requested proxy voting advice (“2020 Rule”). The Court struck down the 2020 Rule as unlawful, reasoning that the meaning of “solicit” as Congress intended when it enacted the Exchange Act is to actively seek to obtain proxy authority or votes. The Court concluded that “the ordinary meaning of ‘solicit’ does not include entities that provide proxy voting recommendations requested by others, even if those recommendations influence the requestors’ eventual votes.” Proxy advisory firms like ISS were therefore in the clear when it comes to Section 14(a).Continue Reading Plain Speaking Wins the Day at the D.C. Circuit: Proxy Advisors Are Not Subject to SEC Section 14(a) Solicitation Prohibition Rule

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is once again considering a proposal that could exempt certain individuals—known as “finders”—from broker registration requirements when helping small businesses raise capital. The renewed focus, highlighted in the SEC’s Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee agenda for July 22, 2025, has reignited discussions that have been ongoing since the initial proposal was introduced in 2020.Continue Reading SEC Revisits ‘Finder’ Exemption: Potential Impacts for Small Businesses and the Capital Markets

In Norman v. Strateman, No. A170356, 2025 WL 1802786 (Cal. App., 1st Dist., June 20, 2025), the California Court of Appeal held that a settlement of derivative claims reached among all shareholders of a close corporation was not enforceable because the settlement was not vetted by the trial court through a formal settlement approval process. This ruling confirms that the procedural requirements for derivative litigation must followed even for closely held companies where all shareholders are also individual parties to the litigation.Continue Reading California Court of Appeal Holds That Derivative Litigation Settlement Procedural Rules Apply Even In Intra-Shareholder Suits in Closely Held Companies

In Ezrasons, Inc. v. Rudd, 2025 NY Slip Op. 03008, 2025 N.Y. LEXIS 717 (N.Y. May 20, 2025), the New York Court of Appeals reaffirmed the fundamental and controlling nature of the internal affairs doctrine as it relates to the choice of law regarding corporate governance disputes. Specifically, the Court held that in enacting Sections 626(a) and 1319(a)(2) of New York’s Business Corporation Law (“BCL”), the New York legislature did not clearly manifest an intent to displace the long-settled doctrine as it applies to shareholder derivative standing with respect to corporations formed under the laws of another jurisdiction. This decision provides further assurance to foreign corporations that New York courts will enforce the substantive law of the place of incorporation for litigation involving the corporation’s internal affairs.Continue Reading New York Court of Appeals Reaffirms the Internal Affairs Doctrine for Foreign Corporations

M&A in the AI sector is redefining deal risk, especially when sensitive data is involved. As AI companies power breakthroughs in biotech, healthcare, defense, and critical infrastructure, the stakes for companies acquiring businesses handling proprietary data, biotech research, medical records, trade secrets, critical technology or government intelligence have never been higher. In an era where a single data breach or compliance failure can derail innovation and shatter market trust, due diligence has evolved from a legal checkpoint to a mission-critical strategy for safeguarding value in a rapidly disrupting landscape.Continue Reading Guarding Against the Unknown: M&A Due Diligence of AI Companies in Data-Sensitive Sectors