On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (the “ARPA”), the much-debated $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus legislation. The ARPA includes a provision, added by Senate amendment on March 6, 2021, which will further limit the deductibility of amounts deemed to be “excessive employee remuneration” under

Cleary Gottlieb’s “2020 Developments in Securities and M&A Litigation” discusses major developments from 2020 and highlights significant decisions and trends ahead.

In Liu v. SEC, the most notable securities decision of 2020, the Supreme Court cemented but limited the SEC’s authority to seek disgorgement as “equitable relief” for a securities law violation.

Over a year ago, on December 29, 2019, the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation entered into force. Just a few months remain before key provisions begin to apply and asset/fund managers and other financial services firms should not delay in preparing for new disclosure requirements.

The SFDR requires European financial firms to consider how sustainability risks

On October 26, 2020, the European Commission launched a public consultation on a possible EU-level regulatory initiative dedicated to sustainable corporate governance. The consultation is open to a wide range of possible stakeholders incorporated or having activities in the EU until February 8, 2021.

The initiative is proposed further to Action 10 of the European

The EU Taxonomy Regulation, which entered into force on 12 July 2020, introduces an EU-wide taxonomy (or combined glossary and classification system) of environmentally sustainable activities, as well as new disclosure requirements for certain financial services firms and large public interest entities.

In short, the Taxonomy Regulation is intended to provide certain businesses and investors

The 2020 ‘perfect storm’ of global economic fallout caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, renewed global political focus on the Black Lives Matter movement and the workers of the gig economy, plus the pall of smoke from unprecedented wildfires on five continents, is reinvigorating scrutiny from consumers, regulators and employees on ecological and social sustainability considerations,

On November 11, the UK Government proposed a new national security screening regime that would allow the Government to intervene in “potentially hostile” foreign investments that threatened UK national security while “ensuring the UK remains a global champion of free trade and an attractive place to invest.”

If approved by Parliament, the National Security and