The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu The leading online blog in the fields of corporate governance and financial regulation. Thu, 16 Jul 2026 13:31:56 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.8 https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/cropped-photography-4-e1706898544564-1-32x32.png Responding to Institutional Investor Requests for Access to Independent Directors – The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu 32 32 Responding to Institutional Investor Requests for Access to Independent Directors https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2015/07/15/responding-to-institutional-investor-requests-for-access-to-independent-directors/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=responding-to-institutional-investor-requests-for-access-to-independent-directors https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2015/07/15/responding-to-institutional-investor-requests-for-access-to-independent-directors/#comments Wed, 15 Jul 2015 13:07:39 +0000 https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/?p=71138?d=20150715090739EDT Posted by Martin Lipton, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, on Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Editor's Note:

Martin Lipton is a founding partner of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, specializing in mergers and acquisitions and matters affecting corporate policy and strategy. This post is based on a Wachtell Lipton memorandum by Mr. Lipton and Karessa L. Cain.

Recent statements by BlackRock, State Street, Vanguard and other institutional investors clearly articulate their expectation that companies should provide access to independent directors and should adopt a structure for regular investor/director communications. In responding to these requests, there is a range of approaches that companies could adopt which, in each case, should be tailored to the specific circumstances of the company. Indeed, institutional investors have specifically stated that they do not seek any particular method to ensure access to, and relationships with, directors. However, they have made it clear that it will color their attitude toward the company if the company first begins to provide access to directors only after the company has been attacked by an activist.

(more…)

]]> https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2015/07/15/responding-to-institutional-investor-requests-for-access-to-independent-directors/feed/ 1