Weekly Roundup: June 26-July 2, 2026

This roundup contains a collection of the posts published on the Forum during the week of June 26-July 2, 2026

Shareholder Activism Approaching the 2026 Midpoint: Trends, Lessons, and What to Expect for the Rest of the Season

Posted by Sebastian Alsheimer, J.T. Ho, and Paul J. Shim, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, on Friday, June 26, 2026

Tags: Board refreshment, Hedge Fund Activism, Mergers & acquisitions, Proxy contests, Shareholder activism, Universal Proxy Rules

AI in Incentive Plans: Opportunity, Risk, and the Role of the Compensation Committee

Posted by Pat Haggerty, Pearl Meyer & Partners, LLC, on Saturday, June 27, 2026

Tags: AI, Artificial intelligence, Compensation committees, Executive Compensation, Incentive Compensation, performance metrics

Delaware Court of Chancery Interprets New Section 144 and Applies Heightened Presumption of Director Independence

Posted by Amy Simmerman, Brad Sorrels, and Jordan Cramer, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, on Sunday, June 28, 2026

Tags: Conflicted Transactions, Delaware Court of Chancery, Delaware law, Demand futility, derivative litigation, Director Independence

Delaware Court of Chancery Dismisses Stockholder Claims as Derivative, Unripe, and Untimely

Posted by Robin Wechkin and Madison Ferraro, Sidley Austin LLP, on Monday, June 29, 2026

Tags: Delaware Court of Chancery, derivative litigation, Direct vs. Derivative Claims, Statute of limitations, Stockholder Litigation

Opting Out of Court? Reputation and Informal Norms in Private Equity

Posted by Kobi Kastiel (Tel Aviv University) and Yaron Nili (Duke University), on Monday, June 29, 2026

Tags: Corporate Litigation, Institutional Investors, Limited Partners, Private equity

U.S. Proxy Season: Say-on-Pay, One-Time Awards, and Equity Plan Trends

Posted by Subodh Mishra, ISS STOXX, on Monday, June 29, 2026

Tags: Equity Compensation, Executive Compensation, Proxy Season 2026, Say on pay, shareholder engagement, Shareholder voting

First Court of Chancery Decision Interpreting New DGCL Amendments Provides Greater Certainty for Boards and M&A

Posted by Rick Horvath, Eric Siegel, and Molly Wang, Dechert LLP, on Tuesday, June 30, 2026

Tags: delaware, Delaware law, DGCL, DGCL S.144, Director Independence, Fiduciary duties

The Effective Board: A Guide to Drive Board Performance

Posted by Lee Henderson and Jamie Smith, EY, on Tuesday, June 30, 2026

Tags: AI, Artificial Intelligence (AI) Oversight, Board composition, Board culture, board effectiveness, Director Succession Planning, Geopolitical Risk

Court of Chancery Imposes Sanctions for Spoliation of Signal Messages

Posted by Mallory Tosch Hoggatt, Alan Goudiss, Jeffrey Hoschander, A&O Shearman, on Wednesday, July 1, 2026

Tags: deal disputes, delaware, Delaware law, Discovery, document retention, Fiduciary, Fiduciary duties, Litigation holds, M&A, Shareholder litigation

Audit Committee Considerations for SEC’s Proposal on Semiannual Reporting

Posted by Kathy Nieland, Tracey-Lee Brown, and Gregory Johnson, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, on Wednesday, July 1, 2026

Tags: Audit committee, Disclosure, Financial reporting, Periodic reporting, Public Companies, SEC, Securities regulation

Post-Doctoral and Doctoral Corporate Governance Fellowships for Individuals with Legal Training

Posted by Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, on Wednesday, July 1, 2026

Tags: Hiring

Short-Term Incentive Metrics: Increasing Metric Complexity and a Pay-for-Performance Disconnect

Posted by Subodh Mishra, ISS STOXX, on Thursday, July 2, 2026

Tags: incentive plans, P4P, pandemic impact, Pay for performance

Remarks by Chair Atkins on the SEC’s Regulatory Priorities

Posted by Paul Atkins, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, on Thursday, July 2, 2026

Tags: Capital formation, Capital markets, digital assets, Disclosure, ESG, IPO, private market, Public Companies, Regulatory reform, SEC, Securities regulation, Shareholder proposals