2026 promises to be a year that will demand both agility and strategic foresight from boards of directors and management as they navigate unprecedented challenges.Continue Reading Selected Issues for Boards of Directors in 2026
Boards of Directors
Significant Tax Measures Remain in Flux for Large Multinational Groups
The following is part of our annual publication Selected Issues for Boards of Directors in 2026. Explore all topics or download the PDF.
The international tax landscape is increasingly fractured. Boards of multinational companies may want to pay particular attention to the impact of and ongoing developments with respect to (i) the OECD’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Pillar Two rules, and (ii) the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA).Continue Reading Significant Tax Measures Remain in Flux for Large Multinational Groups
Trade Controls, Foreign Investment and National Security: New Regimes and Continuing Changes for 2026
The following is part of our annual publication Selected Issues for Boards of Directors in 2026. Explore all topics or download the PDF.
In 2026, boards of directors will continue to navigate a shifting U.S. regulatory environment shaped by an assertive and transactional approach to trade and national security. Uncertainty surrounding the most significant U.S. trade development in decades continues into the new year as the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule in the coming weeks on the validity of the “reciprocal tariffs” imposed by the second Trump administration against most U.S. trading partners.Continue Reading Trade Controls, Foreign Investment and National Security: New Regimes and Continuing Changes for 2026
The Current Tax Risk Environment and Best Practices for Managing It
The following is part of our annual publication Selected Issues for Boards of Directors in 2025. Explore all topics or download the PDF.
2025 begins with a continuation of the major tax trends emerging in the post‑Covid era: more aggressive audits by tax authorities in search of additional revenue, increased international cooperation between tax authorities, the end of transitional concessions to assist businesses through the pandemic, and a developing role for tax in shaping ESG policies and behaviors.Continue Reading The Current Tax Risk Environment and Best Practices for Managing It
2025 UK and European Capital Markets Update: “All Change!”
The following is part of our annual publication Selected Issues for Boards of Directors in 2025. Explore all topics or download the PDF.
UK and European capital markets underwent significant reform in 2024. The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) overhauled the UK listing regime and implemented new listing rules (UKLRs) as part of the UK government’s efforts to simplify and modernise the regime and reinvigorate the UK capital markets. The UKLRs pave the way for further reform of the UK’s prospectus and public offer regimes, with final rules expected in the summer. In the EU, the EU Listing Act introduces fundamental changes–to the EU market abuse and prospectus regimes, in particular – which are intended to simplify and standardise requirements for EU listed issuers. The EU Listing Act is part of the EU’s Capital Markets Union project aimed at increasing the attractiveness of EU capital markets. These reforms have generally been positively received on both sides of the Channel. Despite some alignment amongst the reforms (whether implemented or proposed), they also introduce notable divergence between the UK and EU regimes, for the first time since Brexit.Continue Reading 2025 UK and European Capital Markets Update: “All Change!”
Cybersecurity Disclosure and Enforcement Developments and Predictions
The following is part of our annual publication Selected Issues for Boards of Directors in 2025. Explore all topics or download the PDF.
The SEC pursued multiple high profile enforcement actions in 2024, alongside issuing additional guidance around compliance with the new cybersecurity disclosure rules. Together these developments demonstrate a continued focus by the SEC on robust disclosure frameworks for cybersecurity incidents. Public companies will need to bear these developments in mind as they continue to grapple with cybersecurity disclosure requirements going into 2025.Continue Reading Cybersecurity Disclosure and Enforcement Developments and Predictions
Delaware’s Rocky Year–What Lies Ahead?
The following is part of our annual publication Selected Issues for Boards of Directors in 2025. Explore all topics or download the PDF.
2024 was a remarkable year in Delaware. For the first time in as long as anyone can remember, people began to seriously question whether Delaware would retain its dominance as the go-to jurisdiction for incorporating companies. There was an uproar following several decisions by the Delaware Court of Chancery that seemed to shake the market’s confidence in Delaware law’s venerable predictability. One such decision invalidated shareholder agreement provisions that had long been commonplace and another found that a board had not validly approved a merger agreement because, as is typical, the board had not received a draft in final form. At the same time, a certain well-known CEO’s $50 billion compensation package was struck down, leading him to publicly declare “Never incorporate your company in the state of Delaware.”Continue Reading Delaware’s Rocky Year–What Lies Ahead?
FDI Review Regimes Ramp up Globally and Enhance Enforcement; U.S. Outbound Investment Regime Goes into Effect
The following is part of our annual publication Selected Issues for Boards of Directors in 2025. Explore all topics or download the PDF.
In 2025, boards of directors face a well-established and active global foreign direct investment (FDI) landscape where regulatory review continues to expand and develop. Last year, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) issued a final rule enhancing its mitigation and enforcement authority. Non-U.S. FDI review regimes, particularly in Europe, have become more active, with a number of new regimes entering into effect and an increasing number of transactions subject to regulatory scrutiny. The European Commission proposed a new EU-wide FDI Screening Regulation in March 2024, which aims to overhaul the existing EU FDI regime. As concern grows over access to and control over artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors and other advanced and critical technologies, FDI approvals have become a significant regulatory issue for many cross-border transactions.Continue Reading FDI Review Regimes Ramp up Globally and Enhance Enforcement; U.S. Outbound Investment Regime Goes into Effect
A New Regulatory Environment for Climate and Other ESG Reporting Rules
The following is part of our annual publication Selected Issues for Boards of Directors in 2025. Explore all topics or download the PDF.
The Ill-Fated SEC Climate Rule
On March 6, 2024, the SEC adopted final rules “to enhance and standardize climate-related disclosures for investors,” which included, among other things, requirements to disclose material climate-related risks and related governance policies and practices and mitigation and adaptation activities, targets and goals, Scope 1 and 2 emissions reports and financial statement effects of severe weather events and other natural conditions, including related costs and expenditures (the Climate Rule).Continue Reading A New Regulatory Environment for Climate and Other ESG Reporting Rules
Outlook for M&A and Activism in 2025
The following is part of our annual publication Selected Issues for Boards of Directors in 2025. Explore all topics or download the PDF.
Predictions for M&A in 2025
The Overall M&A Environment
Many have predicted an M&A boom in 2025 and recent CEO surveys exhibit rising confidence.Continue Reading Outlook for M&A and Activism in 2025