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. Wed, 08 Apr 2026 11:32:13 +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 Ten Tactics that Unnecessarily Frustrate Activists and Impact Negotiating Leverage – The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu 32 32 Ten Tactics that Unnecessarily Frustrate Activists and Impact Negotiating Leverage https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2026/03/31/ten-tactics-that-unnecessarily-frustrate-activists-and-impact-negotiating-leverage/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ten-tactics-that-unnecessarily-frustrate-activists-and-impact-negotiating-leverage https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2026/03/31/ten-tactics-that-unnecessarily-frustrate-activists-and-impact-negotiating-leverage/#respond Tue, 31 Mar 2026 11:30:21 +0000 https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/?p=179927?d=20260330161836EDT Posted by Christine O’Brien and Lex Suvanto, Edelman Smithfield, on Tuesday, March 31, 2026
Editor's Note:

Christine O’Brien is a Senior Advisor and Lex Suvanto is the CEO at Edelman Smithfield. This post is based on an Edelman Smithfield memorandum by Ms. O’Brien, Mr. Suvanto, and Patrick Ryan.

Boards and management all have the same fear – the ominous news story, 13D filing, or even the first phone call when an activist investor introduces themselves as one of their largest shareholders. What happens next is swift and often sets the tone for the engagement. The Board is notified, advisors are summoned, and a defense plan is assembled. Directors are flooded with counsel from advisors who claim they know the activist best and have seen this situation many times before.

In these moments, it’s easy for Boards to slip into self-preservation mode and engage in standard defensive tactics. However, many of these well-advised tactics may jeopardize trust with the activist and ultimately reduce the company’s negotiating leverage. Rather than establishing the basis for a thoughtful exchange of ideas, some standard defense tactics can inadvertently signal resistance and bad intentions, making it more difficult to maintain a constructive dialogue that could lead to a mutually beneficial outcome.

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