News & Events

Corporate Counsel Yafit Cohn was quoted in Agenda, a Financial Times service, in an article titled, “Right-Wing Investor Plans to Question Boards at AGMs.” The article discusses the advancement of social and political issues by “special interest groups” at shareholder meetings and in shareholder proposals submitted to public companies. Specifically, the article outlines efforts by the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), an investor group that identifies as politically conservative, which has filed 44 shareholder proposals during the past four years to draw attention to conservative topics and has brought up controversial issues at annual general meetings which get recorded and posted online. Recently, at Walgreens Boots Alliance’s annual meeting, NCPPR Free Enterprise Project director Justin Danhof asked the company’s executive chairman what the company’s plans for employee coverage will be if the Affordable Care Act is repealed and subsequently posted the exchange on YouTube in an attempt to “educate the entirety of those who read proxies.” Yafit noted that it is “pretty unique” for this type of exchange to be posted on outlets like YouTube and suggested that companies ensure that they have and enforce a rule disallowing the use of cameras and other recording equipment at the annual meeting. 

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